Clash of the Worlds
by Rainbowmnms
Summary: Grace thought her story was over. She was happy going to school with Rin and her friends. She could never have expected what was to come: having those friends ripped away from her. Grace will become the spark in a war between Heaven and Hell. Can she stay alive long enough to return to Rin's side, or will she lose herself along the way? Sequel to The Third World.
1. The Unusual Birthday Present

**A/N: In case you clicked on this story thinking, "Eh...who needs the first story in the series...I'll just figure it out as I go along" I _seriously_ suggest that you read the first story first. Just saying. I mean it's up to you, but you might miss some things. **

**To my awesome reviewers who asked for more: be happy! It was because of you that I decided to write this sequel. I hope you like this one as much as you liked the first. :)**

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><p>My name is Grace. I know that I said my story was over, and it is. This isn't my story alone. I've shared it with those around me. I've taken it upon myself to pull together the words of my friends and my family and gather them together. That is what you are reading right this moment. You'll read the words of many in one story. Why did I gather these recounts together? I suppose it was so that I could immortalize the war…so that humans—like you, reader—could know what truly happened. So that you could know what took place right in front of yours eyes without you seeing it. So that you could know <em>the truth<em>.

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><p><strong><em>~Grace~<em>**

"Come on! We have to get out of here! We're going to be late!" Rin yelled to me.

"I'm trying!" I replied, pulling my boots on. I stood up and then, as per usual, tripped and fell flat on my face. Rin burst through the door, "Are you ok?"

I nodded, groaning and still lying on the floor, "I'm ok. Just tripped."

His shoulders relaxed a little. "You need to calm down. It's not like I'm going to die. Jeez. Ever since _then _you've been really overprotective. It's over, Rin. Plus, you and I _both _know that I could kick your ass any day," I said, pushing myself upright and un-crumpling my uniform.

"It's not _my _fault that I'm overprotective. I just worry…that's all," he said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. He must have been really worried, because normally he would have argued with me about which one of us would win in a fight. I stood upright and frowned at how much taller he was than me. I mean, he had a good seven inches on me. He noticed me frowning and how I'd crossed my arms and slouched down, "Better?"

I punched him lightly in the arm and frowned even deeper, "Not funny."

"What, it's not my fault you're sho—" he began. If anyone else was about to call me short I whip out a can of serious whoop-ass, but this particular guy was on my very short list of people that I would forgive. By 'short list' I mean you need a magnifying glass to see it. Don't laugh. I'm dead serious. If you want to read the list, I'd suggest purchasing a magnifying glass…it'd be a worthwhile investment.

Anyway, as I said…Rin is on my tiny list. So, instead of physically abusing him, I did something else. I stood on my tiptoes and grabbed his tie, pulling him down even lower so that I could reach. What was I trying to reach? I didn't think I'd have to tell you…I mean it's pretty obvious seeing that he's my boyfriend and all…

I crushed my lips to his, stealing a long and deep kiss. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to him. I reached up and circled my arms around his neck and we stayed like that for a while, kissing and holding each other. "Morning you two, we need to g—" said a voice. It was cut off due to pure shock. I pulled away from Rin and peered over his shoulder. Rin had lifted me off of the ground, so my feet were dangling a few inches above the floor. This was mostly for leverage issues. I grinned to myself…_leverage_.

Yukio was standing in the doorway behind Rin and his face was bright red, "S-Sorry!" He took a few steps backwards and his back slammed against the wall behind him. He turned to leave, walking quickly. I smiled and looked back to Rin, "He's gone."

Rin nodded and arched his neck, kissing me gently again. Rin cracking up broke our kiss. At first I was angry—mostly because I wanted to keep kissing him—but soon I started laughing too. He set me down and we leaned against each other, laughing hysterically. "That was hilarious. Did you see his face?" Rin asked.

I nodded, "Oh man. I think that might top the time I saw him in his heart-shaped boxers…" I slapped my thigh and he nodded, "That was great!"

As our laughter started to die down, we took deep breaths and massaged our aching facial muscles. I nodded, "We should go." He was still smiling as I leaned down and picked up my bag.

As soon as I stepped out of the door I spotted my father, "Grace!" He was smiling at me. I tried to turn and run, but Rin stopped me. I groaned and glared at him.

"Dad," I said, turning back to my father.

"I have good news!" he said, grinning even wider than he already had been. He usually does that, though. Whenever he sees me, his smile lights up and he pulls me into a tight hug. Speaking of hugs, that's what he was doing right at the moment. I patted his back and gasped for air, "Breath…oxygen!"

He pulled back immediately looking sheepish, "Right, my point! I got you a present for your birthday!"

"Oh yeah…that is happening soon," I said, only just then realizing it.

"Your birthday is coming up?" demanded Rin, looking terrified.

"Actually, her birthday is today!" said my dad, flashing his pearly whites.

"Today?" gasped Rin, falling to his hands and knees. I patted his head and leaned down beside him, "Don't worry 'bout it. I've never had a party or presents before, so why should I care about it now?"

He looked up at me, his face pale, "That's _exactly _why you should care!"

I raised back to my sad-but-full height, "I really don't need anything, dad."

"Nonsense!" he said. I groaned and facepalmed. "Mikael!" dad called. I held a hand over my face, covering my eyes. I heard footsteps crunch the gravel as someone walked up to us. I peeked in between two of my fingers. I dropped my hand to my side and let my mouth drop open. "He's your new bodyguard!" said my father proudly, crossing his hands over his chest.

I stared at the man in front of me. He was flawless. I mean, when I say flawless I mean _flawless! _He had olive-colored skin, not a blemish in sight. Silky, chocolate curls fell over his forehead. He had deep green eyes that stared at me. He had a strong build, but his body was still lean. He was wearing a hoodie and dark jeans. A necklace with a small, silver cross pendant hung at his gorgeous collarbones that peaked out from beneath his green T-shirt. A slight smile crossed his lips, "Hello." Oh. My. God. He has a British accent. I stared at him and then snapped out of it when Rin's dark tail flitted across my vision.

"I-Is he real?" I asked. My dad chuckled.

Mr. Perfect laughed. My heart did a little dance. "I'm as real as you are," he said, the corners of his amazing eyes tilting up as he smiled. He shoved his hands in his pockets. A small tattoo that I couldn't recognize peeked out from the sleeve of his hoodie.

"I'm Grace," I said, sticking out my hand.

"Mikael," he replied, taking my hand. His were large and calloused. I wondered how they'd gotten so rough even though the rest of him was so amazing. "It's nice to meet you, Grace," he said, shoving his hand back into his pocket.

"He'll be watching over you…keeping you safe," said my dad, putting a hand on my shoulder.

It suddenly occurred to me that my dad had brought Mikael here because he thought I couldn't protect myself. I hate to admit, but I'd been practically hypnotized by Mikael's staggering magnificence. I narrowed my eyes and stuck my finger against my dad's chest, "I don't need a bodyguard!"

"But—" my dad began.

"If I may, sir," said Mikael, stepping forward and flashing another smile at me. My resistance started to crumble, but I held strong, managing to glare at Mikael's beautiful face. "You can think of me as your friend instead of a bodyguard. That _is _what I'd like you to think of me as…if that's alright with you, Grace," he said, staring at me. He looked at me expectantly.

I stayed silent for a moment, "A friend?" He nodded. I was silent again and then crossed my arms over my chest, "Alright. But let me ask you something…does this 'friendship' include stalking me on rooftops in the name of my protection?"

He remained silent for a moment. "Friends don't stalk friends," I said skeptically.

"If I agree not to stalk you, then will you say yes?" he asked. The final piece of my resistance disintegrated when he said the word 'stalk' in his English accent. I nodded. He smiled at me again. I practically had to shield my eyes from his blinding beauty.

"Perfect!" said my father, clapping my back. I winced. _You really need to learn your own strength, Dad. _

"I've got to get to class. See you," I said.

"Can I come with you? I'm attending your school now as well," he said matter-of-factly.

"Whaaaat?" I said, taken aback.

"What, what?" he questioned, looking confused.

"How old _are _you?" I asked, looking him up and down.

"Nineteen," he replied.

"Seriously?"

"Not in human years," he replied.

"He…alright. That makes more sense. Sure, whatever…follow me. I assume Dad put you in the same class?" He nodded and followed after me. I heard someone clear their throat behind me. I froze and realized what I'd just done. I spun on my heel and twisted a lock of my hair around my finger.

"I don't mean to interrupt your 'friendship', but you _were _walking with your _boyfriend_ to class," said Rin, frowning at me. I walked back to him and smiled. I wrapped my arms around one of his and smiled, "Sorry."

"Sorry won't cut it," he said, still looking angry.

"What will?"

"Nothing," he replied, not looking at me. I was putting up my best forgive-me-I-was-blinded-by-his-brilliance-but-now-I'm-over-it-and-I-love-you look. Unfortunately, it wouldn't work if he didn't look at it. An idea lit up in my brain like a light bulb. I pulled his face down to meet mine and planted a kiss directly on his cheek, (mind you, it would have been the lips if we didn't have spectators). His face turned bright red and then he said, "Alright, you're forgiven." He slung an arm over my shoulders and steered me towards the school.

"We're going to be late," I said casually. I waved to my Dad as he transformed into a falcon and flew off. Mikael walked behind us practically silently.

"So?" Rin replied.

"I don't like being late," I said. With that I unconcealed my wings and wrapped my arms around Rin. I beat my wings a few times and lifted into the air.

"What are you doing!?" he shouted as we rose into the air, "People will see you!"

"Don't worry. My dad taught me a spell that would make me invisible when we're flying," I replied.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked a voice. I looked to my left and saw something I didn't expect. Mikael was flying beside me, his large wings flapping in unison with mine. While mine were a pure, snow white, his were brownish and speckled with dark black spots.

I nearly dropped Rin, "You're an angel too?"

"Yes?" he replied.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm not sure." I frowned and then returned to his previous question, "It'll be fine."

"I'm not so sure about that, but alright," he said, not bothering to argue with me. I had a feeling we both knew who would win.

"Why did we have to fly?" protested Rin.

"It's faster than walking," I replied coolly.

"Don't care!" he yelled back. I grinned as we closed in on True Cross Academy. When we landed, I practically dropped Rin. I stretched my wings above my head one last time before I hid them again. I turned to Mikael just before his wings disappeared. It was strange. I'd never met another angel like me. I smiled to myself as I walked with the two to our class. I wasn't quite as alone as I'd thought.

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><p><strong>AN: Alrighty, next chapter soon. I'm already having fun with this story. DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A REVIEW IF YOU LIKED IT! :) Thanks. **

**Fun Skit I wrote because I felt like it:**

**Rin: Stop staring at him. **

**Grace: I can't. **

**Mikael: You're making me uncomfortable. **

**Grace: *pokes Mikael in face* Are you sure your face is real?**

**Mikael: *facepalm***


	2. Jealousy Is My Middle Name

_**~Rin~**_

"Who is he?" Izumo asked, her arms folded crossly over her chest. She stared at him skeptically.

Grace frowned, "Normally you say 'hello' when you meet someone."

"My name is Mikael," he said, smiling. I couldn't help but think that this guy smiled a lot…probably too often.

"H-Hello," stuttered Shiemi, staring at him. A slight hint of pink graced her cheeks, "I'm Shiemi."

"Nice to meet you," said Mikael, though I had a feeling he didn't really mean it. His eyes kept flicking back to Grace. I glared at him as I walked towards my girlfriend.

"He's staring at you," I whispered into her ear.

"I know…he has to keep an eye on me. Isn't that what my father ordered him to do?" she replied.

I frowned, "In the middle of a classroom?"

She nodded and went to sit down. "Hey, man. You joining our class?" asked Shima, striding towards Mikael.

"For now," replied the angel. He looked a little nervous. I caught Grace smiling. It pissed me off. Mikael went to sit beside her, but I got there first. I resisted the urge to growl at him. Grace was mine. This guy wasn't going to get her. Mikael immediately backed off and took the set behind Grace instead. I sat down angrily.

"Are you jealous of him?" asked Grace, leaning towards me. I stared at her, trying to hide my anger. "You are! You're jealous!" she said, grinning.

"I am _not_!" I protested.

She patted my shoulder and leaned against me a little, "That's adorable."  
>"I am <em>not <em>adorable!" I complained. She just smiled and rested her head on my shoulder. I couldn't help but relax a bit. She was with me now, so I didn't have to worry. Her head wasn't on Mikael's shoulder. Still, I knew I had to keep an eye on him. I sensed something about him that unnerved me. It wasn't anything dangerous, but I still didn't like it…though I wasn't exactly sure what it was. I sighed as class started. A few seconds later, Grace sighed too. I smiled and took a lock of her hair in between my fingers. We stayed like that the entire period.

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><p>"Shima!" Grace called, bounding up to him.<p>

He turned to his right, "Hmm?"

"Are you and Izumo going out today?" she asked.

"Not that I know of," Shima replied.

"We're not. We hardly ever do," said Izumo sourly as she strode past her boyfriend.

"What?" asked Shima. "Wait, Izumo! Come back!" he called after her, "Does that mean you want to go out?"

Their voices drifted away as they walked down the long hallway.

Grace's shoulders slumped and she was scowling. "Disappointed your best friend is busy with his girlfriend?" I asked, shoving my hands in my pockets.

She nodded solemnly. "Care you go out with _your _boyfriend?" I asked expectantly.

She smiled and wrapped her arms around my neck. I circled my own arms around her thin waist. "Depends…where would we go?" she asked.

I leaned down, bringing my face closer to hers, "I don't know. Where do you want to go?" Our noses were touching now.

"Hmm…let me think about it…" she whispered. She arched her neck and brought her lips to mine. Our lips barely brushed before a loud sound made her flinch and turn away from me. A mixture of agitation and longing swirled inside of me. The rest of our classmates walked out of the classroom along with Yukio, who had been the teacher this period. Bon walked casually past us, giving me a quick _che _sound as he strode by. Konekomaru smiled as he followed closely on Bon's heals.

"So you're an angel _too_?" I heard Shiemi ask. She was walking beside Mikael and staring at him in wonder.

He nodded, "Sort of…yeah." Grace pulled out of my arms and ran towards her bodyguard…or should I say 'friend'.

"Hey, I wanted to ask you something," she said, looking excited. Yukio strode over and stood beside me.

"Hey, little brother," I mumbled, my exasperation seething from me unintentionally. I looked over to where my brother was standing and realized he looked just as pissed off as I was.

"He really does look like an angel, doesn't he?" Yukio muttered.

I nodded, "It pisses me off." I stared at Grace. She looked really happy. The fact that anyone other than me could make her smile like that was really irritating.

"Look at Shiemi. She looks like she's in love with him or something," growled Yukio. That surprised me, "You like Shiemi?"

He snapped out of his trance, "No!"

"That'd be like a teacher-student relationship," I said, hiding a smile. I tried not to laugh.

"I don't have any control over it!" he replied, outraged.

"Oh, so you admit that you _do _like her?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

His face turned bright red and he stalked away. "Wait, Yukio!" Shiemi called, catching up with him, "Our new shipment of wolfs bane has come in. Did you want to come with me so that you could pick it up?" Yukio smiled and nodded. They walked off together. Before I could turn back to where my eyes had previously been glued, something small slammed into me.

It knocked the wind out of me, "Ow."

"Oh, sorry," said Grace, "Did I hit your stomach?"

"Couldn't you just hug me normally?"

"Normal? Where's the fun in that?" she asked, smiling. She didn't wait for me to recover before she said, "Hey, I'm going to go out with Mikael. Is that ok?"

"What!?" I gasped, stunned.

"Not…like…_go out _go out. I'm talking about flying." She turned away from me and called over her shoulder, "I'll be back before dark!" I stared after her in shock as she walked away with her new 'friend'. The last thing I saw were their backs as my girlfriend got farther and farther away from me. I wanted to stop them…to remind her that _I _was her boyfriend, but it's not like I could actually do that. I couldn't take that friendship away from her. She'd finally met someone who was just like her, and that was important to her. If it was important to her it was important to me. I can't say it didn't hurt that that important person wasn't me, though. I'd found a new reason to hate my lineage. I longed to be the only one in Grace's eyes. As I turned to head back to the dorm, it became clear to me that that wasn't possible.

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><p><strong>AN: Yeah. It was short. I probably should have told you beforehand that the chapter lengths would vary. Some will be pretty short and some will be pretty long. Don't forget to leave a review. Thanks. :)**

**Side note: I'll be updating this story once or twice a week. I normally update every day, but I'm having a little trouble with this one, (it may also have something to do with the fact that I want the storyline to be purrrrfect...) Look forward to the next update soon!**


	3. Inches Are Worlds

_**~Grace~**_

I tapped down gently, my feet touching down on the paved walkway that led up to the dorm. I sighed and stretched my arms above my head. I concealed my wings and yawned. It had gotten late. I hadn't realized I'd been out flying with Mikael for so long. Something about being together with him was calming and…fun? Maybe it was because he was the first person I'd ever met who was just like me. He was like the brother that I never knew…wait…he _was _the brother that I never knew. And I had stared at his gorgeous face. Awkward.

"So…you didn't die," said a voice from above me. I looked up. "I thought you'd been hit by a plane or something," said Rin, jumping down from the tree branch that was a couple meters above my head.

"I don't die that easily," I mumbled, regretting my words as soon as I said them.

"I thought I told you not to joke about that," he said, his voice steady and serious. He walked towards me. I stared at the ground, twiddling my fingers.

"You did," I muttered.

Rin took a deep breath and leaned towards me, "How was your date with Mikael?"

My head jerked up, "It wasn't a date!"

"Really? That's what it seemed like to me," he said, looking straight at me. His eyes weren't angry; they were empty. Honestly, I would have preferred them being angry. I could deal with Rin being angry. I'd seen him angry one time too many, (or maybe a little more like one hundred times too many). Emptiness, though, I couldn't handle. It scared me seeing him like this. I shrunk back, "Rin?"

"I'm not angry," he said, his voice even, "If you like him better than me, I won't stop you."

"What are you even talking about!?" I yelled, getting a little angry that he thought I would leave him just like that. Hadn't I told him that I loved him? Hadn't I said that I wasn't going to go anywhere?

"I'm not crazy, Grace. He's closer to you than I am. I can see that," Rin said calmly.

I, on the other hand, was freaking out, "Rin, stop talking like this! I love you! I _only _love you! Stop scaring me! You do realize he's my _brother _right?!"

"I just think—" he began, but that's when I heard it. A normal person probably wouldn't have been able to hear it, but both Rin and I could. We had sharper hearing than most, so the sound was clear as day. I whirled around.

"Was that a scream?" I asked, terror in my voice.

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><p><em><strong>~Mikael~ <strong>_

I had to get to Grace, but the burning sensation in my side wasn't helping me get there any faster. I looked down and saw a big, black scorch mark that reached from my hip to the top of my ribcage. I cringed, not wanting to look at my burnt flesh. I pushed my wings harder, biting back the pain.

I didn't want to let my father down. He'd trusted me with Grace, and I wasn't about to let her get into any danger. I knew that they'd come for her. My attackers, though I'd eliminated them, were most certainly after her. We'd tried to keep her a secret from the demons, but they'd found out. It was during the attack on The Vatican. The few demons that survived had brought the word back to Satan. Now, he was searching for her. That's why father told me that I should keep a closer watch on Grace. That's why I had to get to her immediately.

I knew that if there were several demons that had gotten to me, there would be more to follow. Goblins never travel alone. It only made the matter of reaching Grace more important. I didn't doubt that she could handle herself easily—she was even more powerful than I was—but I knew she'd need help. I doubted that the demons had come without a ringleader, so to speak.

A new shot of pain pierced my left wing. I looked up and saw that brilliant blue flames were erupting from my feathers. I let out a guttural scream as the pain shot through me. I tumbled from the sky, desperately trying to flap my wings. It didn't work.

I fell quickly, the wind rushing past my face. "Mikael!" I heard someone scream. Something slammed into my side, catching me mid-air. I looked up and saw Grace staring at me, "What happened?!"

"Grace, you're in danger…get out of here!" I yelled, using the last of my strength. The last thing I saw before I passed out was a shot of blue flame lighting up the sky above us.

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><p><em><strong>~Rin~<strong>_

"YOU!" I screamed, drawing my sword. Grace jumped up to catch Mikael as he fell. Blue flames shot up around me. I launched myself into the air towards the man who was riding on the back of a giant goblin.

He laughed manically, "You've done daddy a favor!" I felt rage boil up inside of me.

"You're not my father!" I bellowed. He grinned and nodded, "Are you talking about that man? The one that I _killed_?"

I launched towards him, but he easily smacked the blade out of my hand. I grabbed hold of me, "Would you like to come with me…back _home_?" He loomed close to me and I smelled rot and blood. I spat in his face, trying to break free from his grasp. He grasped my neck and lifted me up. I grasped at his hand, but his grip was firm.

"Stop!" I heard someone scream. I knew that voice. I wanted to yell at her to run. I wanted to tell her to get to safety. I wanted to tell her that everything I just said was a lie. I didn't want her to go to Mikael. I wanted her to be mine and mine alone. I wanted to tell her everything, but I couldn't. My voice wouldn't work.

"Ah, there you are," hissed Satan, turning his disgusting head towards Grace. At such a close distance I realized how ugly he was in his true form. I wasn't sure how he'd managed to come to Assiah while still maintaining his true appearance, but he had. He had long, grotesque horns curling around his disfigured face. Blue flames whirled around him, oozing off of him sinisterly. Worst of all, though, were his eyes. They were just like they had been the night he'd possessed the old man: cruel and delighted. He enjoyed this. He enjoyed others' pain.

Grace screamed out of rage. I lifted my arm, reaching for her. It was a vain attempt to try and stop her from doing what I knew she would do next. She lifted her arms and her rifle appeared in her hands, "Let Rin go!"

"Alright," Satan said, shrugging. He dropped me. I coughed, gasping for air. It took me a few seconds to realize that I was falling. I saw Grace lunge for me, desperate to catch me. I reached out for her and our fingers touched for a moment before she was ripped away. She screamed out, her eyes desperate as our hands got farther and farther apart.

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><p><em><strong>~Grace~<strong>_

Tears were streaming down my face. I'm not a crier. I don't like crying. I've done it too much recently. Then again, could that be because I found something that I wanted to protect. Unfortunately, that 'something' that I wanted to protect was plummeting full-speed towards the ground.

"He won't die," hissed a voice into my ear. Satan had a tight hold on me. I couldn't move. I was frozen out of fear. I'd fought plenty of demons before, but Satan was a different story. I wanted to cry, but I was too afraid. "But it will hurt," Satan whispered into my ear, laughter in his voice. _How could a person let this happen to his or her own son? Oh, right. Satan isn't a person… _I watched as Rin tumbled through the air. He was staring at me, his eyes wide. My tears fell faster. I let out a sigh of relief as a brown streak collided with Rin. Mikael had caught Rin as he fell.

"Pity," mumbled Satan, sounding disappointed. I scowled, my fear turning to rage. _He tried to hurt Rin! _

My elbow shot out and dug into Satan's gut. He doubled over and I slammed his head on my knee. He staggered backwards and then regained his balance.

"Normally, I would kill you for that…but I don't want to hurt my toy," he said, malice in his voice. His fiery eyes bore into mine.

"T-Toy?" I stuttered.

"Though I can't kill you…I _can _do this!"

"Grace, NO!" screamed a voice. I wasn't sure who it belonged to. Satan had reached forward and touched my chest with on finger. He traced a strange design on my collarbone and then whispered, "Pain."

My eyes went wide in realization. I tried to rub the mark of, terrified, but it didn't work. Blue flames drifted up from the design. I looked up at Satan, horrified. He smiled coldly at me, his eyes filling with visibly frightening pleasure. That when the pain hit me. I screamed out, my knees crumbling. Satan caught me and threw me over one shoulder. Every inch of my body filled with the most unbearable pain that I'd ever felt. It was more painful that when I'd broken my wing. Even worse was the fact that I wasn't passing out. I'd passed out back then. Why wouldn't I now?

"If you're wondered why you aren't slipping into the bliss that is unconsciousness, it's because I won't let you," he hissed to me. I gasped, trying not to give him the satisfaction of letting out more screams. I couldn't help it though. I cried out, tears squeezing from the corners of my eyes and sliding down my face.

"Grace!" I heard a voice yell. I vaguely saw a brown streak flying towards me, one wing dramatically darker than the other. I knew it was Mikael and that he was trying to protect me. I also knew it was no use. Satan grinned, extending one arm. A dark hole appeared in front of him, "Well, now that I have what I came here for…I'll be going." Mikael was close now. I weakly reached for him as Satan stepped through what I supposed was some sort of gateway to Gehenna. Mikael flew towards me, his arm outstretched. He looked desperate and scared. There were tears in his eyes too. Our hands narrowly missed each other, sliding past one another. Only a few inches stood between us. Still, those few inches seemed like worlds.

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks for reading yet another chapter, you fans, you. Hehe, I love you guys. Anyways...now that _that _awkward moment is over...**ahem**  
>Please leave a review if you liked it. Thanks!<br>PS  
>I've officially dubbed Fridays as my update-day. I'm updated today, (Thursday), only because I was struck by a lightning bolt of creativity and just had to jot it all down. Alright...that's it for my awkward announcements. Cool! Next chapter coming soon! :)<strong>


	4. The Scaredy-Demon

**_~Grace~_**

My body ached all over. Thoughts swam through my head. I repeated the same questions in my head. Where am I? What happened? Why do I hurt?

It didn't take me long to remember what had happened to me. It all hit me at once. It felt sort of like how I imagined being hit by a charging bull elephant would feel: it hurt. It wasn't my body that hurt—though that hurt as well—it was my heart. As the tidal wave of memories flooded back to me, I felt tears slide down my face. Rin. I curled up into a ball, not bothering to open my eyes and determine where I was. I hid my face in my hands and let my tears silently fall. I had a creeping feeling that I wouldn't see Rin for a long time. I felt lonely. I longed for him. I wanted to feel his arms around me again. I wanted to feel safe. I knew, though, that safety wasn't something I would feel for a long time.

I took a deep breath and wiped my tears from my eyes. I eased myself upright, squeezing my eyes shut tighter as I pushed past the persistent aches. I opened my eyes slowly. All I saw was darkness. I waited for what seemed like hours for my eyes to adjust to the dark. Eventually I was able to make out my surroundings. There was a cot in the corner of the small room. The walls and floor were made of what seemed like black stone, but smelled not unlike a peculiar mixture sulfur and charcoal. The rest of the room was empty. I felt suffocated, unnerved by the low ceiling. There was a door on one wall. It was solely made up of bars.

I stood up shakily and walked over to the door. I reached out and touched it. I cried out immediately, snatching my hand back. When I touched it, it had stung sharply. I looked at my fingers and saw a burn mark. "I wouldn't touch that if I were you," said a voice. My gaze snapped up from my fingers to meet that of the man who was standing on the other side of the bars. He had reddish-black hair that shone in what little light leaked in from that hallway he was standing in. I squinted until I could make out his face.

His hair was short, but long enough to cover his forehead. He had high cheekbones and sharp features. I couldn't help but notice that he possessed the sort of lips that most girls would fawn over. A small scar stretched from his right temple to the corner of his eyebrow. When I met his eyes I saw something strange. Yes, they were dark with red rims around his pupils. They were initially intimidating, but when I stared into them I saw something there. What it was I couldn't tell you. They just seemed…gentle?

"Who are you?" I asked.

"My name is Judiyah, but you can call me Jude," he said, tilting his head down a bit and timidly fiddling with a lock of his hair in between two of his fingers.

"Where am I?"

He hesitated and I walked closer to the bars, careful not to touch them. I stared up at him, as he was at least a foot taller than me. When I got closer to the light I realized that he was wearing a long, black overcoat that reached down to his tall, black boots. His clothes looked shredded, exposing some of his pale skin. His shirt only covered half of his chest, exposing his well-defined stomach lines. I stared up at him, trying to get him to look at me. When he finally did I smiled, "Don't worry about me. You can tell me the truth." Something told me that this guy wasn't all that bad. I pride myself in my ability to judge people, so I trusted my gut feeling.

His eyes looked sad, "You're in Gehenna, in my father's dungeons."

"Your father?" I asked, leaning forward.

He nodded slightly, "Satan."

I gasped and then suddenly felt my strength leave me. My knees wavered and then I crumbled to the ground. I tried to take deep breaths, but I couldn't manage it. I gasped for air, clutching at my throat. I couldn't breath. I was being suffocated. I felt to the ground, shivering violently. Jude was looking down at me, pure shock on his face. Suddenly he swung the door open, leaning over me. He propped me up in his arms, "Damnit." He looked frustrated and a little scared.

I fisted his shirt as my lungs screamed out. I felt my eyes roll back in my head. My muscles cramped painfully as I struggled for air. I let my eyes close. Suddenly I felt something strange. Slowly I felt something creep down my throat, bringing sweet relief. My eyes snapped open and I gasped for air. I took in several deep gulps of air before questioning what had just happened.

"I'm sorry," Jude whispered, covering his face. I looked at him. I reached up and pried his hands from his face. I was surprised to find that his face was bright red. He wouldn't look me in the eye, "I had to do it…to save you."

"Wait, do what?" I asked, confused.

"You were going to die…because you're an angel. Angels don't belong in Gehenna. You couldn't breath the air. I'm not sure why it took so long for that to happen. You've been here for a while and it hadn't happened yet. You must have already been exposed greatly to demons." _Does kissing one count as 'exposed'?_

"I still don't know what you're talking about," I said.

"I gave you my blood…so that you could breath. I had to…to…" his voice drifted off as his face turned red again. My eyes went wide as I realized what he'd done, "You _kissed _me, didn't you!?"

He nodded, "But I had to! I'm sorry! I didn't want you to die!"

I smiled and playfully slapped him on the arm, "You're forgiven."

He glanced up at me timidly and nodded. I grinned, sliding off of his lap. I got to my feet and looked around me, "So I'm a prisoner?"

He got to his feet, towering above me, "Not my prisoner."

"I figured that out. You seem to nice to have prisoners," I said, stretching my arms above my head. I then wrapped my arms around myself, staring at my feet. Thoughts of Rin circled around my head again. I wanted to cry again, but held it in. I had to be strong now. Loneliness wasn't an option. I knew that they would come for me if they could, Rin and Mikael I mean. Probably all of the other Exwires and my dad would also come. Heck, exorcists might even come. The only problem was that they didn't have any way to get to Gehenna.

"I'm sorry," Jude whispered.

I looked up at him and smiled as best I could, "It's alright. Has anyone ever told you that you apologize a lot?"

He shook his head, "No one talks to me."

I raised an eyebrow, "What does that mean?"

"Everyone hates me because I'm weak. You're the first person I've talked to in a long time…"

"I'm sorry."

The corner of his lip lifted, "Who's saying sorry now?"

I smiled. Something about being with him made me feel a little less alone. "You got me," I said, walking over to the cot in the corner. I sat down on in and gestured for him to sit beside me. He hesitated. "What? Can't sit with an angel?" I jested.

He frowned, "That's not funny."

"I won't bite, though," I said, pouting. He was still frowning when he sat beside me. He looked stiff and uncomfortable.

"Would you mind listening to me?" I asked, curling my legs close to my chest and resting my head on my knees. His only answer was a slight nod. I took that as permission to speak, "I guess you could say that I feel a bit lonely…maybe even scared."

"I get it," he said. We were silent for a moment before he spoke again. "I'll do my best to help you, but I can't promise much. I'm too much of a coward to go against my father."

"Your father…Satan?" I asked.

"I'm not proud of it," he breathed, fidgeting with the same lock of hair he had before. I figured it was a nervous habit.

"You're not alone, though," I said calmly. He looked up at me, his hand freezing. He shot me a questioning look.

I smiled, "You have a brother…two, actually." His eyes went wide, "What!?"

"Rin and Yukio Okumura. I know them well. Actually, I fell in love with Rin," I said, openly stating the truth. For some reason I felt comfortable with him.

I looked up at him to see his reaction and saw tears in his kind eyes. "What? What's wrong?" I asked, putting a hand on his shoulder to try and comfort him. It struck me that perhaps the reason why I felt comfortable around him was because he was Rin's brother…well, half brother, at least.

"I have brothers?" he asked, a single tear falling from his chin.

"Yeah, but they're pretty stupid…and annoying," I said, laughing a little. He exhaled quickly, which seemed like a laugh.

"I miss them, though. Especially Rin," I said, leaning my head against the wall, "Wow. I must be really pathetic to go such a short amount of time and already be missing him."

"It's not pathetic. If my love ever came true, I'd want to spend all of my time with her," he said.

I nodded, "Thanks."

He sighed. My eyes went wide. "Wait, your love?!"

He blushed a little, "What?"

"Tell me about her."

"I don't—"

"Don't lie to me. We're closer than that."

"We just met a little while ago."

"Irrelevant. Proceed."

"Her name is Scarlet."

"Is she beautiful?"

He nodded, "I've loved her for a long time, but she's never noticed me."

"Aw, don't beat yourself up about it. I'm sure she's noticed you at least a little bit," I said, nudged his arm.

He shook his head, "No. She's a powerful demon. I'm a disgrace. I pass out whenever I even think about killing something."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing."

"It is in Gehenna."

I nodded, "I guess we _do _come from different worlds."

He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off my a yell of rage, "Judiyah! What are you doing here!?" I looked to the doorway and felt the blood drain from my face. I stumbled to my feet alongside Jude.

"Father!" Jude squeaked, his own face growing pale. He shrunk against the wall as Satan bore down on him. Jude's father raised a hand and struck out at him. Jude accepted the blow, not resisting. A large gash opened up on Jude's face, which quickly started to close up. He lay on the ground and Satan kicked him repeatedly.

"Jude!" I yelled out, rushing to his side.

"No, don't," Jude coughed.

"Well, well. If it isn't the little angel. You're very important to me," Satan growled. I felt cold hands wrap around my wrist. I was suddenly pulled towards him. I grimaced as his disgustingly disfigured face hovered close to mine. I resisted my urge to gag at his smell.

"Don't hurt her," Jude said quietly, unable to rise from where he limply lay on the floor of my cell.

"You disgust me," Satan growled, "You'll receive your punishment later." His cold hands wrapped around me, pulling me against him. He ran his finger down the back of my neck, brushing my long, pale hair away from the nape of my neck. I shivered and squeezed my eyes shut. I didn't want to be here. I didn't want this to be reality. I wanted to wake up. I imagined Rin's face, smiling at me. I felt tears slide down my cheeks, but found comfort in the thoughts of Rin. I let his toothy grin fill me with serenity.

I flinched as Satan violently ripped the back of my shirt open. He walked around behind me and slammed me against the ground. He touched the tattoos on my back. "Ah, your wings are here, yes?" he whispered. I wanted to cry and then strike out at him, but figured it wouldn't end well for me. I couldn't even get my body to move. "Show them to me," Satan whispered into my ear. I shook my head weakly. "Show them to me!" Satan yelled. I flinched and whimpered.

There wasn't anything I could do. He yanked me to my feet and backhanded me. I cried out. "Stop!" Jude shouted, trying to push himself upright. He just collapsed again, looking up at me in horror. I took a deep breath and glared at Satan. I closed my eyes. I knew my usual stubbornness would just hurt me more. I gave in. I released my wings. The seemed to glow brightly in the cell, lighting up the whole room. I spread them out. They reached across the entire room. The snow white feathers shone brilliantly. Satan smiled and Jude gasped. "So it _is _true," Satan said, staring at my wings in wonder.

"What?" I said quietly.

"You don't know?" Satan asked. He took my face in one hand, "The purer an angel is, the whiter the wings. Do you know what that means? You are pristine. Untouched. The perfect specimen. You are the product of God and Venus. _You are the most powerful angel the world has ever seen_."

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><p><strong>AN: Yeah, so that probably left you with questions. Sorry about that! It'll all be explained soon. The next chapter will include a little-or a lot-of the worried and **_**very angry **_**Rin! If you liked it this chapter, don't forget to leave me a review. :)**


	5. On My Way

_**~Rin~**_

The best way to describe how I was feeling would be…numb…and angry…well, more like blindingly furious.

"No, she was taken to Gehenna! By _him _of all people!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. I could feel my anger well up and resisted the growing urge I had to punch something…or someone.

"We don't doubt that she was taken to Gehenna, but it's not like we can just ring the doorbell and Satan will let us in," Mikael replied, his voice calm.

"I don't care! We have to help her! I'm not just going to leave her!" I shouted, slamming my fist down on the table.

"You need to calm down, son," said Grace's father.

I whirled on him, outraged, "You want me to calm down!? How are _you _so calm when it's _your _daughter that was kidnapped?" I pointed an accusing finger at him and his expression didn't so much as twitch. "Maybe it's because you don't love her…you _never_ loved her. Isn't that why you never spoke to her until the attack on Headquarters?"

His only reply was a swift and relentless slap across my cheek, knocking me to the ground. I looked up at him, angry. That anger, however, soon vanished when I took in his expression. "Don't _ever _say that again! I'm not calm! You don't know how much I want to storm into Gehenna and take back my baby by force, but I _can't_!" he bellowed. He stared at me, "You can't understand how much I loved her mother and how much I love her…" He turned away from me and leaned against the table for support. Mikael walked up and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Father, we'll get her back. I'm sorry. I was careless. I should have stayed with her. I just…I know how important to you she is. I swear I'll get her back," Mikael said, his voice dropping to a pained whisper. I watched them as I got to my feet again, gently touching my tender cheek.

"No, you can't go. You'll die within a few hours," he replied, looking at Mikael.

"But, I can't just—" Mikael started.

"I'd like to avoid losing another one of my children if I can. I won't let you go."

"Why don't you just go?" I asked, careful to keep accusation out of my voice. Somehow when he'd shown me how much he really loved Grace, all of my anger just faded away.

"If I went it would be like openly declaring war on Gehenna. I don't doubt that Assiah would be destroyed if we were to truly battle," he replied. I nodded. That made a lot of sense. I'd seen how much destructive power Satan had—which may have only been a fraction of his power—and I couldn't imagine what it would be like for he and God to collide. It was an intimidatingly terrifying concept to wrap my head around.

"Then…I'll go," I said. I stared at the two of them, completely serious. They stared back confusedly, trying to figure out if I was joking or not. "I'm serious," I said so as to clear up their confusion.

Mikael shook his head, "You're not well-trained. I can see you dying within seconds. Easily."

"Hey! I'm not that weak! I bet I'd beat you in a fight!" I said, clenching my fists.

"No need to fight it out." I hesitated and glanced over to him. He was smiling at me, "You're really something aren't you. You just go around destroying things and picking fights with every moving thing you see…"

"So what?" I said, crossing my arms over my chest and tipping my chin up.

"And yet…you're very devoted to my daughter. I suppose that's why I like you so much. It may also have something to do with the fact that Grace loves you in return."

With that statement my face grew hot. "It's also why I think you're the perfect person to save her," he said, nodding. I saw a kindness in his eyes and my nerves eased.

"You'll be immune to the toxins that linger in the air which would be fatal to a holy being such as Mikael. I don't doubt you," he said.

I grinned, "That's what I like to hear! Alright!"

"You can't let him go and keep me here. I have to be there to save her…otherwise I won't forgive myself for what I let happen," Mikael said, his eyes growing dark.

God's brow furrowed. It suddenly occurred to me that I had no idea what his name was. My own brow furrowed. "There may be a solution," he said, "But you're not going to like it."

"Anything. I'll do anything," Mikael said, hope flashing in his eyes. I raised a curious eyebrow.

"There a…not exactly legend, more like lesser known fact that if one were to drink the blood of a demon, they'd be immune to Gehenna's toxins."

"You want me to drink the blood of a demon?" Mikael asked, looking dumbfounded.

"Not just any demon," God said, hesitating, "It had to be the blood of an upper class demon." There was a moment of silence before Mikael burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" I asked, staring at him. He just looked up at me and then started laughing harder.

"I really don't get it," I mumbled.

"If he wants to accompany you to Gehenna he has to drink the blood of an upper class demon…which would mean _your _blood." Mikael pushed pass his laughter and tried to calm himself down. I felt dread creep up and surround me.

"_My _blood!?" I practically shouted.

"This is going to be _so_ weird. Man, when Grace hears about this," Mikael said, turning to me. He drew his knife and creepily smiled. It still didn't make him any less annoyingly handsome. Considering how beautiful Grace was, it occurred to me that maybe all angels were aesthetically perfect. The thought of Grace sent a pang into my heart and I felt a little anger rise again. Unfortunately, that anger was greatly overshadowed by my fear. I backed up, holding my hands out in front of me, "Whoa, now. Let's not be hasty."

"Sorry, but I'm coming with you…and if I want to do that I have to drink your blood," Mikael said.

"Try not to _actually _hurt him," interjected Grace's dad.

"Wait, wait, wai—" I began. I flinched as Mikael's dagger sliced open my arm. "God! Why did you do that?" I shouted.

"I didn't do it!" Grace's dad said, laughter in his voice.

"Shut up, old man," I hissed. He laughed. My wound started to smoke and sizzle as it closed up. This always creeped me out: the feeling of my skin repairing itself and the gruesome sound effects that came with it.

Mikael held out his hand and caught some of the blood that was dripping from my wound. He stared at it, revulsion showing obviously on his face. "Hey, you don't have to drink it if you don't want to," I said, feeling a little creeped out myself. The whole idea of drinking blood was…well, creepy.

"No, I have to," he said. He summoned his courage and then downed it in one gulp. He choked a little and coughed. I grimaced, "Enjoy it. It's on me."

"That might have been the worst experience of my life," Mikael said, closing his eyes as if he were trying to erase the memory.

"I thought it was pretty entertaining," God added.

"I feel violated in so many ways," I said, shivering.

"Let's never speak of this again," Mikael said. I nodded in consent.

"I make no promises," said Grace's dad as he walked past us. He was smiling wide, "Follow." We followed him to the other side of the room where there was a large, open area. He took a deep breath and pressed one finger against the wall. He slid his finger over the stark white wall and I stared in wonder as a golden trail remained wherever he touched. When he completed the rectangle he took a step back. He muttered a few words and then pressed his palm against the center of the rectangle. The entire rectangle started to ripple. I blinked a few times so as to confirm that my eyes weren't playing tricks on me.

The wall had transformed into a door. It was a simple door made of old wood. The white paint on it was chipping and the doorknob was scuffed. "Well that was anticlimactic," I said. Mikael nodded in agreement.

"This door will bring you anywhere you wish. In this case, that would be Gehenna," he said, ignoring my comment. He put one hand on my shoulder and the other on Mikael's. He took a deep breath and then glanced between us, meeting our eyes, "I'm trusting you two to bring her back safe. She's special. Rin, you don't know this, but she isn't just a normal angel. Mikael, you explain it to him as you travel."

Curiosity rose inside of me, worry its close companion. "Mikael, come back safely with Grace, alright?" he said, pulling Mikael into a strong embrace. Mikael patted his father's back and nodded, "I will."

He turned to me and smiled, "You too. Try not to die while you're there." To my surprise he then hugged me as well. He patted my back and then released me. I nodded, feeling that words weren't needed. "Mikael, if you start to feel exhausted or out of breath, return immediately. This will allow you to create the door as many times as you need. Be careful, you two." I watched as he pressed a small, golden key into Mikael's hand.

We both nodded in response and stepped towards the door. I pulled the door open and stared into the darkness. I couldn't see anything other than swirling, blackish mist. It was almost worse than if I saw a pit of fire. If it were fire at least I would have known what the threat was. With just endless darkness, all I knew was…nothing.

"Remember what I said. Don't forget not to die," he said. His words were followed by a quick yet forceful push to our shoulders. I found myself falling towards the black mist. The only thing I could think of as I plummeted towards whatever awaited me was Grace. What had her father meant that she wasn't like any other angel?

"Mikael," I said, adjusting to the falling sensation.

"Yeah, I know. You're going to ask me," he said. He took a deep breath, "Firstly, there's something that you need to know. An angel's purity is shown in their wings. Mine are speckled. Grace's are pure white."

"And?"

"_And_…that means that she's the purist of the pure. She's essentially more powerful than any one of us. That isn't just because she got lucky. Her mother wasn't a human…"

I gaped, "Wasn't human?"

"A long, long time ago, my dad fell in love with Grace's mom. Her name was Venus. She was similar to my father, possessing unnaturally strong power and was apparently very beautiful. She wasn't an angel, though. Venus was an immortal, an extinct race. They were annihilated by Satan years ago, which makes the name of their race cruelly ironic. Anyways, Grace is the daughter of an immortal and the source of all angels. Her true power only awoke on her birthday this year. That's why my father decided it was time for her to be guarded. It's also why Satan came for her. I don't doubt that he wants to corrupt her, to take away her purity. He wants to manipulate her power."

I'd been listening in silence, but at that statement I spoke up, "Manipulate her power?"

"Use it to his advantage. She'd become a pawn."

"No. Grace is strong. She wouldn't let Satan take her over so easily."

Mikael smiled and nodded, "I know."

I nodded and we traveled in silence. I took in the information Mikael had just dropped on me slowly and calmly. We were quiet for the rest of the trip, every second heightening my anticipation. I was going to see Grace soon and I was going to save her. I didn't quiet understand everything that Mikael had just told me, but that much I knew.

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><p><strong>AN: Hope you liked the chapter! Don't forget to leave me a review. :)**


	6. Dark Wings

**~Grace~**

I groaned. My head was pounding and my vision was blurry. "Grace!" someone shouted. I wasn't sure who had shouted, but I did know that whatever had just happened to me…well, shouting wasn't about to fix it.

"That was only step one," cooed a voice. I felt cold fingers slide along my cheek. I shivered and tried to blink away the blurry vision.

"W-What?" I stuttered. At least I think I stuttered that. Either that or it came out sounding like complete nonsense. I wasn't really in my right mind at the moment.

"Grace, are you alright?" asked a voice. I looked to my left and saw a blurry, dark-haired figure lying on the ground beside me. "Jude?" I questioned.

"Yeah, it's me," he said and then coughed. I wasn't sure if the red that flashed in my vision was blood, but I hoped it wasn't. How badly had Satan beaten his son?

"Close your miserable mouth, disgrace," Satan growled. I turned my head to watch him walk past me and loom over my newfound friend. I couldn't even move to help Jude as his own father tortuously beat him. All I could do was close my eyes and hope that it would end quickly. I felt hot tears leak down my face. Jude only let out harsh grunts with each blow, which made me think that he was used to punishment. I hated this. I hated everything about it. I needed to get out of here. I needed to get back to Rin. He was probably missing me. He—

Silence. The beatings had stopped. I wanted to call out Jude's name to see if he was ok, but I couldn't get my voice to work. I wondered if it was fear that was silencing me. "Now for you," Satan hissed, returning to my side. I heard his footsteps echo in the large room and he got closer to me, bouncing off of the walls and returning to my ears.

"I've got big plans for you. A final strike, so to speak," he whispered in my ear. A few of my hairs blew across my face due to his foul breath brushing my cheek.

"Father, don't. She doesn't deserve this. She's just a gi—" The upside: he was alive. The downside: he just spoke up against his father again…like an idiot. At this rate he would die before I did. Wait…was I going to die?

"She is NOT just a _girl_!" Satan bellowed. I forced my eyes open to see Satan lunging at his son again. I braced myself for more violence, but none came.

"My Lord," said a voice. It was a woman. The echoes made it hard to tell where it came from, but I could clearly tell that it belonged to a woman. Of course, said woman couldn't have been a human. They'd have died long ago if they attempted to enter Gehenna.

Satan paused at the voice and looked up. I followed his gaze. A woman—demon—was standing in the doorway. She had her arms crossed over her chest. Long, straight, blood red hair fell over one side of her face. Matching red lips curled into a smile as she strode into the room. Her gown drifted gently behind her with each step. I was mesmerized just looking at her. Her dress drifted above me, gently caressing my body as she stepped over me. She put a delicate hand on Satan's shoulder, "My Lord, do you truly deem this necessary?"

"A weakling deserves punishment, Scarlet," he growled, "Don't question my authority!"

"I would _never _question _your _authority, Your Lordship," she said, her voice soft and coaxing, "But if you continue this any longer he could perish."

"That wouldn't be much of a loss, now would it?"

"You forget. He may yet be able to be turned into a wonderful warrior. If you'd so desire, I could take on such a task," she said. Her long lashes almost brushed her cheek as her amber eyes narrowed.

Satan sighed, "Very well. I trust you, Scarlet. Take him away." I wasn't very surprised when the woman leaned down and took hold of Jude's ankle and subsequently dragged him from the room as if it didn't take any effort. Just before she exited, she turned and looked at me briefly. She looked to Satan, "Is this the immortal's child?"

Satan grinned, "You are very observant."

"I'm looking forward to seeing the result. Do call me when its finished, yes?"

"I would never think of leaving you out of the festivities." She smiled sweetly. I felt a mixture of loss and relief as he disappeared behind the doorframe.

"And now it's time to complete the process, yes?" he said, turning back to me.

"Process?" I asked. My voice, (surprisingly), came out audibly.

"How should I say this…corruption?" he said, questioning his choice of words.

I closed my eyes, "Do whatever you want. You'll never be able to beat my father."

"Don't underestimate me, _angel_!" he roared. His horns burst into flame and intimidating blue light filled every corner of the room. I flinched back and shut my eyes, the heat singing my skin.

"You're disgusting," I whispered.

"The daughter of _that_ man should not be saying such things about me! Nor should the daughter of the immortal! And here you are…_both_ of those people!"

"What?"

"I've told you before. You are the daughter of 'God' and Venus. You are the ultimate weapon, and I intend to use you to your fullest extent!" I opened my mouth to ask one of the questions that were filling up my brain, but my words were cut short. I didn't get the chance to ask him what an immortal was. I didn't get the chance to ask him why he knew the things he did—or supposedly did.

Satan flipped me onto my stomach and pressed his hand against my back, "Show them to me again."

"Like I would!" I screamed.

"Show them to me or I'll rip them out myself!"

"Never!" I screamed. Nothing could have prepared me for the pain that followed. I don't want to describe what happened. It wasn't like any pain I'd ever felt before. All you need to know is that slowly, bit-by-bit, I felt my control slip away. I felt what could only be described as darkness taking over. I screamed. I struggled. I cried. Eventually I couldn't do anything.

"Now we wait," Satan snarled. He stood up and slammed the large doors shut behind him. I lay limply on the floor. The coolness of the stone seeped into my body. I began to shiver. That's when I saw it. My wings…they were pitch black. I screamed.

* * *

><p><strong>~Mikael~<strong>

"So this is Gehenna…" I said, crouching down and touching the ground. It was rough and mostly consisted of maroon-colored stones.

"You feeling ok?" Rin asked. I rose to my full height and nodded, "For now." I looked at our surroundings. We were on a mountain of sorts, so we could see pretty far. There was something that looked almost like a black lake. I didn't want to think about what that actually was, because it clearly wasn't water. A few different types of flying demons soared in the sky. A ways into the distance was what seemed to be a city. "I say we head towards there," I said, pointing to the city.

"Grace is there?" Rin asked, squinting his eyes.

"How should I know?" I replied. "Come here."

"Huh?" I sighed and walked towards him. He backed up.

"What are you doing? We need to fly there!"

"You want to _carry me_?"

"I don't see any other option."

"Never. Refused. Denied. Objected. Just…no."

"If we don't get there quickly Satan could do something to Grace, and I—personally—don't want that to happen. Do you?"

Rin glared at me. I waited for his response only a few seconds before he consented. I celebrated my small victory and tucked him under one of my arms. He was surprisingly light.

"Don't carry me like a Chihuahua in a purse!"

"Oh, so you want me to hug you like _this_?"

"Ah! No! Get off me!"

"Chihuahua it is, then," I grumbled, picking him up again. Other than occasionally having to avoid a demon, the flight was pretty fast and smooth. The only difference I felt between Assiah and Gehenna was a slight pressure in my chest. It didn't bother me at all, though. I knew that if the demon blood thing was really a legend, I'd be suffocating or dead by now. I set Rin down immediately—well, more like _dropped _him—and landed in a crouching position.

"Get up, idiot," I hissed. Rin righted himself.

"Don't call me an idiot, idiot," he whispered back.

"We need to focus. I landed on the tallest building…considering Satan's ego."

"What does that mean?"

I sighed, "Because Satan is the ruler of Gehenna, he'll have the largest building. Grace, being as valuable as she is, will most likely be in his castle."

"Right," said Rin, brushing off his clothes, "Let's find her, then."

A new voice joined our conversation, "You won't have to look far." Rin and I immediately recognized the voice. I looked up. She was perched on one of the spires of the structure. Her silver hair blew in what little wind Gehenna had. Her formerly bright eyes seemed dark. _Oh no, are we too late?_

"Grace?" I asked.

"Y-Your wings," Rin said.

"New and improved. More powerful. Want to see?" she said, gliding down to where we stood. I grabbed Rin's arms and pulled him with me as I backed up. Grace laughed.

"I guess I should ask this instead…want to _die_?"

No, this wasn't Grace. She was gone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yeah, you're probably wondering what the hell you just read. Sorry 'bout that. Again I say: it shall be explained. *bows for no reason* Look forward to the next update and review, review, review!**


	7. Chalk It Up To Failure

_**~Rin~**_

"Grace, what's going on?" I asked. For some reason I had a strange feeling in my chest. I wasn't sure why I didn't run to her and take her into my arms like I so wanted to at that moment. I guess something told me not to. I wasn't so dumb as to not be able to see that Mikael was unsteady.

"You're so naïve, Prince," she said. Her tongue snaked out of her mouth and slid along her lips. I took a step back.

"Grace, this isn't you, is it?" Mikael asked.

"What are you talking about? My name is Grace." She'd been walking towards us slowly, step by step. My legs pressed against the wall behind us. I glanced behind me and quickly looked away. If I were to fall over the edge I'd most likely die. I'm not a fan of four hundred foot drops. I'm not really afraid of heights…but this was pretty high. Mikael tightened his grip on my arm and I tried to shrug him off.

"Rin, don't do anything dumb," he hissed into my ear.

"That's Grace…I know it is. There's just something wrong with her."

"That's not Grace anymore, Rin. Don't be an idiot!"

"Let go, Mikael! I know it's Grace!" I shouted. He stared at me and I glared back. We stayed like that for a moment.

"I don't mean to interrupt your conversation, but I have a question for you," Grace said. I turned to he and took a step forward. "Who wants to die first?" she asked, "Will it be the demon or the angel? I personal couldn't care less, but its up to you."

I took another step forward and she tensed a bit. I raised my hands, "Grace, I know that's you."

"What are you doing?" she asked. She took a step backwards. I took one forward.

"I know you're in there, Grace. I need you to come back. You promised me that you wouldn't leave me."

"I didn't promise you anything!" she spat, "The Grace you knew is dead!"

"I know that's not true!" I shouted. Her eyes went wide and a droplet of sweat slid down her face. "Grace," I whispered. I saw her eyes un-cloud.

"Rin," she said hesitantly. She took a step toward me and put a hand on the side of my face. I felt every muscle in my body relax.

"Rin! Her wings are still dark! Idiot!" Mikael bellowed. My eyes went wide moments before an unbelievable pain struck my stomach. I suddenly couldn't breath and my vision blurred. I looked down and realized that there was a poke sticking through my stomach. I looked back up.

"You're dumber than I thought," she said. She leaned closer to me and smiled, "I guess that would be why you have a spear through your gut." She released me, laughing cruelly.

I struggled to breath and dropped to my knees. I was the one sweating now. I looked up at her. She was still laughing.

"You're wrong," I growled. I gritted my teeth and wrenched the spear from my flesh. I howled in pain and double over. A disgusting sizzling sound emanated from my mending skin. My wound started to smoke and close up.

"What did you say?" she cooed, leaning down and taking my chin between two fingers. I stared into her eyes. They weren't the same eyes. They weren't the same eyes that I remember staring into so many times before, but I saw something reflected in them that gave me hope.

"I'm not dumb," I said, "I'm in love." With that I leaned forward and kissed her. She froze up. She didn't move. We just stayed like that, kissing. It made me remember the Grace I knew. I missed her. I knew, though, that she wasn't gone. I was going to get her back. Suddenly, Grace relaxed a little. I pulled away and looked at her.

"What are you doing here? You idiot!" she screamed. She punched me in the stomach and I fell to the side. I smiled. She stood over me, tears leaking down her face. Her wings were a pale gray.

"What a nice way to greet your boyfriend after not seeing him for so long," I said, sitting up. I clutched my stomach. She really hadn't held back.

She fell to her knees and hid her face in her hands, "I'm so sorry, Rin."

I reached forward and took a lock of her hair in my hand, "Now you're the one being an idiot. You know I would do anything for you…even see my asshole of a father."

She choked out a laugh and dove into my chest, "I missed you."

"Same here," I said, grinning and wrapping my arms around her.

"I don't mean to break up this reunion, but we need to go. Who knows who'll be coming," Mikael said. I grumbled and pulled Grace to her feet.

"Ok, then. Let's go," I said. Grace clutched my hand tightly and I refused to let go of her.

"Now, now, now. We wouldn't want that, would we? I bet big, bad demons are going to swarm you any second now…or just one," said a voice. I froze and pulled Grace closer to me. She shrunk into my chest and mumbled something. It hurt me to think about what they'd done to her to make her like this. Normally she'd be screamed something dumb up at our enemy. Instead she was clinging to my shirt and shaking.

"I'll take her. You get Grace out of here," Mikael said to me quietly.

"Cool, but you're forgetting something."

"What's that?"

"I don't have wings and Grace seems to be a little out of it."

"You're right," he growled, "Should we take her together?"

"I don't think she'll stand a chance against us together. It's unfair, but I don't really care at this point."

"Sounds like a plan. Let's do it." I kissed Grace on the forehead quickly and then pried her hands off of me. She reached for me.

"Stop it, Rin," she said. Her face was still wet from tears. My heart lurched. I wanted to return to her side and whisk her away from this horrible place. Unfortunately, a certain redhead was making that impossible. "She's strong," Grace warned.

"Yeah, well so am I. I'll be back. I promise," I said. Her hand slid from mine and I resisted the overwhelming urge I had to take it up again. I walked towards the demon in front of us, Mikael at my side.

"That's so touching," said the woman, "Too bad you're about to die."

"We'll see about that. I don't die easily," I called up to her. She leapt down. It almost looked like she was floating down. Her red dress billowed around her as she gently touched down.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"My name is Scarlet, if that's what you're asking. The only other thing you should know about me is that I've been ordered to bring the immortal girl back to My Lord."

"Immortal girl…you mean Grace?"

"I don't care what her name is. I care about my orders," she said, looking bored, "Now, let's do this. I don't like being late."

"Scarlet!" called a voice. My eyes followed another man, presumably a demon, as he jumped from above as well. I wondered where they were coming from, then realized that there must have been some sort of room high up in the towers. I stared at the guy who'd joined us. "Don't do this, Scarlet."

"Don't be so weak, Jude. It's sickening," she growled.

"Scarlet, stop," he said. He grabbed her wrist and she froze. She closed her eyes and turned to him.

"Judiyah," she said softly, "I need to do this. You know better than anyone what happens when we don't obey orders."

"Sometimes it's worth the pain."

"I don't want that for myself."

"Nobody does, but that doesn't make this alright."

"How come you've suddenly grown a backbone?

"I don't like it when other people are hurt."

She smiled, "I knew that already. You're such a softy. I'm sorry, Jude. I can't disobey him. I won't. I guess I can do one thing, though." She smiled sweetly and then sucker punched him in the face. He flew backward and lay crumbled against the wall.

"Jude!" Grace screamed. _She knows him?_

"Why would you do that to your ally?" Mikael shouted.

Scarlet simply smiled, "Because that way he doesn't have to do anything he doesn't want to. I've at least saved him from that."

I reached up and took the hilt of my sword tightly in one hand, "I see."

"You do, do you?"

"Who am I to judge, though?"

"A demon showing mercy. Pitying him. It's truly pathetic, isn't it?"

"Pathetic isn't the word I'd use to describe it," I said. With that I lunged for her. I drew my blade and swung with all the force I had. She dodged messily.

"B-Blue flames? You're a Son of Satan!" she screeched. I brought my sword down on her and she barely dodged.

"It's not something I'm proud of," I yelled as I launched another attack at her.

"Stop! I can't fight you!"

"Now who's the weak one?!"  
>"My Lord will be angry if I act without his permission." I paused, breathing hard. I narrowed my eyes.<p>

"I imagine he'll be even angrier if you let us get away with Grace."  
>She swallowed nervously, "I…can't let you go either."<p>

"Then you'll have to fight me, because I'm not about to leave the girl I love in Gehenna!"

"Rin! We have a problem!" Mikael shouted. I turned around to see what was happening just in time to see Mikael backhanded ten feet into the air.

"That's not very nice. I don't like being called a problem," Satan said, "Scarlet, you are too weak to best my son. Leave."

"My Lord, I apolog—"

"Silence, _girl_!" Satan spat, "Leave this place!" Scarlet flinched and shrunk back towards the shadows.

"Now for you," he said. He turned towards Grace.

"Don't touch me," she growled. That was more like the usual Grace I knew.

"I'm afraid that's not a wish I can grant."  
>"It wasn't a wish. It was a warning."<p>

"Grace! You have to run," Mikael said. His voice sounded labored. I glanced over at him and realized that he'd just gotten to his feet. I guess Satan had hit him harder than I'd thought.

"It's not like I'm going to get far," she grumbled.

"Enough talk," Satan said. I barely had time to blink before he'd knocked Grace unconscious and slammed Mikael over the edge of the wall. I froze up. I'd forgotten. Satan was more powerful than I'd ever be.

"I suppose I'll let you live…just in case I have a use for you," Satan said, looking down at me, "But don't try this again."

"Rin!" shouted a voice. I whirled around and saw Mikael. He snatched me from where I stood and flew away.

"Wait! I have to get Grace!" I yelled. I looked behind us and saw Satan leaning over her unconscious body. He raised his arm and darkness seemed to swirl around them. I closed my eyes. I couldn't watch it.

I heard her scream and that was it, "Mikael! I'll kill you!" I screamed at him, but he didn't turn around.

"I can't take you back! We'd die!" Mikael shouted.

"I don't care if I die!"

"But Grace does!" I fell silent. He was right, but I didn't want to admit it. I couldn't save Grace if I died. I hated all of it. Why did it have to be Grace? She didn't deserve this. She didn't have to be an immortal…but she was. And there was nothing I could do about it. I stopped fighting.

"We'll get her back. I won't let her stay here forever." Mikael's words didn't comfort me at all. I knew that they were true, but I still worried. I knew what was going to happen to Grace. She was going to be possessed again…corrupted. I couldn't stand to see her again like that. I didn't want it.

But there was nothing that I could do…for now.

_ I'm sorry, Grace. Forgive me._

* * *

><p><strong>I'm sorry that I took so long to update...I sort of missed Friday by a lot this time around. Eh...can't change it now. I hope you liked the chapter, (and are looking forward to the next one). I'd love for you to leave me a review telling me what you think is going to happen next...or just what you thought. :)<strong>


	8. Dreamer

_**~Grace~**_

"I suppose I can't get any food, right?" I asked. I readjusted my hands so that they wouldn't sting as much. I winced when the raw skin underneath the shackles rubbed against the cold metal.

"Stop talking," Scarlet said. I frowned. Scarlet really wasn't a talkative demon. I missed Jude. I figured he'd at least bring me something to eat. Yeah, I wasn't just trying to strike up a random conversation just then. I was actually starving.

"I'll die if I don't receive proper sustenance," I commented. I shifted where I sat again.

"I'm not exactly happy right now. Please stop talking," she said. I raised an eyebrow. She'd actually sounded distressed just now. We stayed silent for a moment. After a while my curiosity grew too great.

"Are you worried?" I asked.

"I told you to stop," she immediately hissed.

"I asked you a question," I grumbled.

She was silent and then, "Yes."

"Do you love Jude?"

"Love!?" she demanded. She turned around and gripped the bars in front of my cell that kept me confined in the same tiny room I had been before.

"I was just asking," I said. I looked her in the eyes and waited. She stared at me. At first she looked angry, but then she began to look sad. "I figured you were worried about him after everything that happened. I saw you save him from Satan and offer to help train him…or whatever that was. I know that you 'showed mercy' towards him on the roof. Don't say that you didn't, because those were your own words."

"I know," she said. She slumped down to the ground and let her long, red hair fall over her face, "I wasn't going to argue with you."

"So you do love him?" I asked. I waited and kept staring. A lock of my own hair fell over my eyes and I blew it away. It was like I could brush it away with my hands when they were tightly shackled to the wall. Sadly shackles tend to limit mobility.

"I never said that I loved him," she said. She looked up at me and I noticed that she almost seemed lost.

"I have someone that I love," I said quietly, "You know when you know. I guess that sounds dumb, but it's true."

"It does sound dumb," she said.

I laughed, "Hey, I told you it would, didn't I?"

"How do you know?"

"That I love Rin?" I questioned. Her only response was a nod. I took a deep breath, "I'd been alone most of my life…until I met him, that is. Somehow after I met him I didn't feel alone anymore. I guess that's when I started falling in love with him. I know because right now I'm more worried about Rin than I am worried about myself." I chuckled to myself, "It's stupid, but it's true."

"It's not stupid." I looked up. Scarlet was staring at the wall.

"Since when did you become so nice?" I asked, "Seriously, you're scaring me."

She huffed and got to her feet, "Don't be a fool. I've never been nice in my life. I was simply stating that I understand, that's all. Goodbye."

"Are you getting me food?" I called after her.

"No!"

I slumped back against the wall and closed my eyes. I didn't like being alone here. Whenever I was alone it only took me a few moments to start thinking about dumb things. I would always consider the possibility that I would never get out of Gehenna, and then mentally slap myself for doubting Rin. Then I'd start thinking about Rin. Sometimes that almost cheered me up, but then I'd start worrying about whether or not he'd gotten back to Assiah or not. It was an endless chain of worry and fear that I hated. That's why I didn't like to be alone. If I was with someone I could at least pester him or her for answer, even if low-ranking guards were usually posted outside. It was my way of entertaining myself.

I'd been lucky today, though. Scarlet had been the one to watch over me. I wasn't quite sure why that was, though. She didn't usually come here. Actually, she'd never been here before. I wondered why it was that she'd come. I let my head slump against my chest and struggled against the unforgiving shackles. "This sucks!" I shouted. I heard my voice echo throughout the building.

I took slow breaths. In and out. I tried to ignore the pain. I'd never been bound up like this before—hey, stop thinking dirty things!—so I'd been surprised that it hurt so much. I refused to let the tears stream down my face. That wasn't something that I was going to let happen. I took another deep breath and held it. I waited until my lungs were screaming for air before releasing it and sucking in more air.

"Grace," a voice hissed. My head jerked up. I looked around my cell but didn't see anyone. _Great, now I'm hallucinating. Could my day get any better?_

"Grace!" the voice came again.

"If you don't come out now I will hunt you down and drop kick you," I drawled. I heard laughter and then a head popped into view behind the bars across from me.

"I'd like to see you try," he said.

I whimpered, "How did you get here?"

"Oh, you know me. I always find a way," Rin said. He examined the bars and then kicked them in. I wondered how he'd done it when I couldn't, but brushed the thought from my mind.

"I'm sorry I took so long," he said, rushing to my side. He hastily opened my shackles and my arms dropped to my sides. I slumped against his chest and curled up.

"Why'd you make me wait, idiot!" I said into his shirt. He held me tightly and ran his fingers through my messy hair. He pulled me against him and whispered into my ear.

"I'm sorry, Grace. I love you," he said. His voice sounded pained, "I'm so sorry."

I shook my head, "You'll need to do better than that." He pulled out of our embrace and smiled down at me. His dark eyes and hair were the same as I remembered them. I felt like it had been forever since I'd last seen them, though it had only been yesterday.

Rin leaned down and gently kissed me. He gently slid his fingers along the side of my face and kissed me there, too. He kissed my neck, and cheeks, my forehead, my lips…

I only spoke when he stopped, "That was better."

"WHAT WAS BETTER?!" shouted a voice. My eyes snapped open. _What? Where am I? What just happened? _

"You looked like you were having a strange dream, Grace. Are you alright?" Jude asked. I looked up at him and was suddenly aware of the aching in my wrists again.

"Jude?" I squeaked.

He knelt down beside me, "That's my name." He half-smiled, which was the most I'd seen of him.

"I was having a really good dream," I whimpered. His eyebrow furrowed and he touched my cheek gently.

"About what?" he asked. He sounded worried.

"About Rin," I said. The tears started to fall. I tried to keep them back, but I couldn't. Sometimes getting a glimpse of heaven was worse than enduring the hell.

Jude wrapped his arms around me and he let me cry into his shoulder. "I…I really m-miss him!" I sobbed. Jude released me from my shackles and I weakly gripped his jacket. "I knew it was impossible," I said, my voice muffled by his clothes.

"Nothing's impossible, Grace. He loves you. He'll come back for you no matter what," Jude whispered.

"How do you know?"

"Because love is stronger than anything, right?" he said. I looked up at him. "And you know that," he added.

I slowly nodded, "Yeah. Sorry. That was dumb. I just don't think I can stay here for much longer."

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Why are you apologizing?" he asked.

"Because I wish you weren't here."

"That doesn't mean you have to apologize."

"I guess you're right."

"Yeah, I know."

His face sobered, "But there is something I'm truly sorry for."

I looked at him and sniffed, "What's that?"  
>"I have to take you to my father." I froze and slowly inched away from him. I stared and didn't try to hide it.<p>

"P-Please don't do that." I shrunk into the corner of the room. Jude was suddenly a threat. I couldn't go back there. I didn't want the darkness again. I didn't want that.

"Grace, I have to," he said. He wouldn't look at me.

"No, you don't! Why are you so afraid of your father?"

"Why aren't you?!" he shouted. I couldn't answer. "Let's go, Grace," he said. His voice was harsh. There was none of the friendliness he'd shown me a moment ago. Why had he changed? What had happened?

* * *

><p><em><strong>~God~<strong>_

"Where's Grace? And what happened to you?" I shouted.

"We have a lot to tell you," Rin said. I stared at the boy. He was the one that my daughter had chosen. My precious daughter. And yet I'd let him come back in this state. I ordered him to sit down and he complied. He looked exhausted and was covered in grime.

"If you two couldn't retrieve her, then I guess I'll have to resort to…"

"To what?" Mikael asked. I looked up at him and felt the grimace spread across my face.

"War."

"What?!" they bother shouted in unison.

"I have no choice," I said. I turned away from them and took a deep breath.

"That's not true. I've got an idea," Rin said. I turned back to him.

"Is it stupid?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" he shouted.

I laughed a bit. Of course the one my daughter had fallen in love with was so temperamental. He was just like she was.

"It's not stupid," he mumbled. He crossed his arms.

"If it means avoiding war, then I'll listen," I said. I had to avoid war at all costs. It was a potentially disastrous possibility, and I'd rather not destroy Assiah while fighting Satan. I sat down across from Rin and looked him in the eye, "I want you to know that whatever the costs are, I am going to get my daughter back. If I am forced to destroy Assiah in the process—which I'd honestly prefer not to do—I will do so. I refuse to let Grace fall into Satan's hands."

"Normally I'd call you insane, but I understand how you're feeling right now," he said. He didn't break eye contact for a moment. I grinned.

"Good, now I'd like for you to tell me what this genius plan of yours is."

* * *

><p><strong>And there you have it...<br>Thanks for reading yet another chapter. Please leave a review!  
>(And yeah, in case you couldn't tell...Grace <em>was <em>having a dream about Rin miraculously saving her)**


	9. For Real, This Time

_~God's Memory~_

_"She's so beautiful," I said. I wanted to reach down and touch her, but I was too afraid. I withdrew my hand. She seemed so delicate, and I assumed that my large hands would break her. _

_ "She's your daughter too. You don't have to worry like that," she said. I looked at her and her smile shone in her eyes. She was proud and rightly so. _

_ "Hello, little one," I said quietly. I gently touched her cheek. She giggled and grabbed at my fingers. I couldn't help but smile. Here was the woman I loved most in the world and we'd just created the most amazing thing. I had a daughter now. I was a father. _

_ "I decided we should name her Grace." I looked at Venus. Her clear eyes and flowing hair weren't any less beautiful than they always were. I melted when she smiled at the name. _

_ I nodded, "That's perfect." _

_ Venus sighed, "It's a shame she'll have to live such a life. Many hardships await her. I worry."_

_ "It is to be expected, though. We knew this would happen," I said calmly. I gazed down at my daughter. _

_ "I want her to be happy, though. I want her to live normal life for as long as she can," Venus said. _

_ I looked up immediately, "You know that can't last forever. It will have to end sometime or another."_

_ Venus looked pained, "I know, but I still want it for her. Will you promise me? Promise me you won't expect anything from her until she gets older?"_

_ I took a deep breath, held it, and then released it, "I promise."_

* * *

><p><em>~Grace~<em>

"Calm down, Grace. You know I would never hurt you," he hissed into my ear. I continued to struggle against him. I didn't want to go back to Satan. I didn't want to have to go through that pain again. Most of all, though, I didn't want to hurt Rin again.

"Grace I need you to stop struggling!" Jude insisted.

"I won't! I won't stop fighting you! Not ever!" I shouted.

Jude's grip tightened on my arm and he slammed me against the stone wall. My head smacked against the stones and I was momentarily stunned into silence.

"I'm trying to help you. We need to move quickly if we want to get out of here," he whispered into my ear. I blinked a few times and tried to process the meaning of his words.

"Help me?"

"Yes, Grace. I want to help you. Please, stop fighting me."

"Aren't you taking me to your father."

"I thought you figured this out," he said quietly and strangely affectionately, "I'm not all too fond of my father. However, I consider you my friend. I like to help my friends. You'll let me help you, Grace?"  
>I slowly nodded, "Thank you."<p>

He smiled and held my arm, guiding me through a labyrinth of hallways, "If someone sees us, pretend like I'm taking you to see my father. I'll have to make it seem real."

"Oh. Is that why you were so mean to me earlier?" I asked.

"Yes. Now hurry." He continued to lead me down a series of twists and turns. I'd completely lost track of where we were and where we were going. I was glad Jude was here with me. If he hadn't been I definitely would have gotten lost. I tripped on my own feet twice, but Jude caught me both times. After what seemed like hours but must really have been only a few minutes, Jude froze in his tracks. I looked up at him and he didn't return the stare. His dark hair mostly hid his eyes, but I could tell that there was fear in them. I followed his gaze.

"Well, what have we here?" inquired a voice. Standing only a few feet in front of us was none other than Scarlet. Her red hair fell over one eye in an elegant manner and she had her arms crossed over her chest.

"Scarlet, get out of my way," Jude said, "I have business to attend to."

"Business, huh?" she said. She strode towards us and looked into Jude's eyes, "What sort of _business_?"

"I'm taking her to see my father. He seems to trust me more recently. I suppose that's because of you," Jude said. I looked to Scarlet.

"That's funny, because last I talked to My Lord he said that you weren't to be trusted because you were still too _weak_," she said.

Jude froze. He didn't say anything. "You're trying to help her escape again, aren't you?"

"Scarlet, you have to understand—"

"Are you in love with her?" Scarlet demanded. Jude's eyes went wide. He released my arm immediately.

"No! She's my friend!" Jude insisted.

Scarlet seemed satisfied with that answer. She stepped forward and, in a quick yet gentle motion, kissed Jude. I stared and then awkwardly looked away. When I looked back, they were still kissing. I cleared my throat. "Lucky for you, I don't have any specific orders to keep her here," Scarlet said.

I looked back and saw that Jude was staring at Scarlet. His face was bright red, almost as red as her hair. I couldn't help but smile. I knew it. I liked being right.

"You're going to let us go?" I asked.

Scarlet looked to me, "I don't know what you're talking about." She detached herself from Jude and slowly walked away, "Goodbye, you two."

"Wait!" Jude called out. He reached forward and grasped her wrist. He pulled her against him, "Come with us. You don't have to stay here. I want you to come."

She smiled and put a hand on the side of his face. Her eyes softened, "I know I don't _have _to stay here. I choose to. I don't fit in anywhere else."

"You fit in with me," Jude said.

Scarlet laughed, "You're so dumb. Well, I guess that's why I fell in love with you." Jude's eyes went wide and his face turned red again. Scarlet kissed him one last time before she disappeared into the darkness. Jude stared after her and I gently put a hand on his shoulder.

"We have to go. You'll see her again," was all I said. It was enough to get him moving again. He took my hand and we ran into the darkness.

"We need to get outside and then I can get us out of here," said Jude. I smiled.

"I miss the sunlight," I said under my breath.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Nothing. Just…thank you."

_I'll see you soon, Rin._

* * *

><p><em>~Rin~<em>

"We've got a few days before your dad gets back. What does he expect us to do for that long?" I asked.

"How about plan our strategy," Mikael said. I looked at him. He was laid back on the couch and had his eyes closed. His stupidly perfect face was annoying me again.

"That's already done, though. Remember? It was _my _genius plan, after all," I said. I folded my arms behind me head and arched my back. I sighed and looked out the window. The sun was high today. The leaves on the giant oak tree outside my window blew in the breeze. I stared at the base of it and imagined Grace. I could almost see her white hair flying in the wind as she playfully peeked out from behind the tree. She would smile and we, wave, and then retreat behind the tree again. She would be carefree. She wouldn't have that awful expression on her face: the one that showed fear. She wouldn't have black wings. She'd just be Grace. That would be enough for me.

I didn't care about her power. I didn't care about the fact that she was born from God and the immortal Venus. None of that mattered to me. All that mattered to me was Grace. I was prepared to do anything to get her back, and that was just what I intended to do. My plan was crazy, but then again so was I. It seemed like something that Grace would appreciate. Most of what I could think about was saving Grace. The rest was about kicking Satan's ass.

"You space out a lot. Did you know that?" Mikael said. His eyes were open now and he was staring at me.

"I didn't used to," I grumbled.

"Is it because you miss her?" Mikael asked.

I glared at him, "It's none of your business."

"Yes it is. Grace is my sister. I care about her too."

"It's different."

"I know, but I still worry. I still think about her all the time. I still can't stop hoping and praying that she's safe."

I rested my head on my palm, "I doubt you care, but…sometimes I feel like…"

I stayed silent, wondering if I should really tell him this. "Feel like?" Mikael asked.

I sighed yet again, "…like if I had been stronger, if I had tried harder, maybe I would have been able to save her, to keep her safe and away from all the pain she's been through."

"You didn't cause that pain, Rin."

"Of course I didn't, but I can't help but blame myself."

Mikael closed his eyes again and leaned back on the couch, "Think about it this way: you're probably all she thinks about. You're probably what gets her through that same pain. Don't beat yourself up over this. She wouldn't want that."

I hadn't been expecting that, but I guess he was right. I hated to admit it, but I felt a little grateful.

* * *

><p><em>~Grace~<em>

"What _is _that?" I demanded.

"I don't know," Jude said, "My father doesn't trust me with anything."

"It looks like some sort of machine, except not," I said in wonder. I stepped towards it. "That's so gross." The thing stood alone in the middle of an otherwise empty room. I was huge. It was mostly made of metal, but parts of it had some sort of organic matter creeping alone its sides. It looked almost like a gun, except the 'barrel' as you might call it seemed to be more cone-shaped. The sides of it were what really scared me…it looked like it was breathing.

"Grace, you shouldn't go near it," Jude warned, "You never know what it might do."

"I feel like this is important, though. I want to find out what it is," I said. I stepped closer to it. I was practically underneath of it now. It loomed over me and I realized that it actually was breathing. A breath of hot air sent my hair into disarray. I couldn't stop myself from reaching forward.

"Grace, don't touch it!" Jude yelled. He started towards me, but he was too late. My fingers slid along the slimy and strangely warm surface of the thing. To my surprise and horror, the meaty parts of it wrapped around my arm and started to pull me in. "Grace!" Jude yelled. He grabbed onto my other arm. I couldn't help but freak out. I mean, a giant, breathing, living machine was trying to eat me. Who wouldn't freak out, right?

Jude and I pulled with all our strength, but it didn't do any good. I was being pulled in farther. I finally decided I'd had enough. I extended my hand and a sharp blade appeared in my hand. I slashed out at the thing and my sword cut right through it. Jude and I fell backwards and the thing retreated, hissing.

"Are you ok?" Jude asked. We were both breathing heavily. I did a quick once-over to make sure everything was intact. Yep, I still had all my appendages.

"Mentally, no. Physically, yes," I replied. I got to my feet alongside Jude.

"Good, then let's go," he said. We hurried away. My arm felt strange. It felt weirdly numb. I assumed it was because I'd lost circulation. It was the most likely possibility.

"Here," Jude said. He reached for a door and swung it wide open. I was met with a hot blast of wind in my face. I breathed in the air, hoping that it would be fresh. I was disappointed when it was even harder to breath than it had been indoors. This was the air of Gehenna, though. I was seriously looking forward to some good ol' Assiah air.

"We made it," Jude said happily. I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't having a stupid dream again. I didn't want to repeat that experience.

"Damn straight we did!" I cheered. Now, time to get home.

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah, that was intentionally creepy. Sorry! I did it again! I was late updating! You may be a bit, (or a lot), confusing right now, but that's completely understandable. Don't freak out! You'll find out more soon. Leave a review if you want and thanks for reading. <strong>


	10. Truly Together

_~Grace~_

"Grace?" Jude questioned. I barely heard him. I was too focused on my breathing. My lungs felt tight and my body felt heavy. I squeezed my eyes shut when another wave of nausea hit me. I fell to my hands and knees, a stabbing pain erupting in my stomach.

"Jude," I panted, "Something's wrong."

I felt his hands on me and he tried to find the source of my pain. I cried out as my pain intensified. I felt dizzy and I keeled over. I fell onto Jude's lap and he looked terrified. He panicked.

"Get me…" I doubled over, "Home!"

He nodded and briefly left me there, lying on the cold stone. I heard a rumbling sound in the distance. I wondered if that was Satan realizing that we'd escaped. It was strange. A few minutes ago I'd felt fine, but now…

A warm light washed over me and I felt hope rising. My father. He would know what to do. I felt a faint vertigo as Jude lifted me from the ground. He walked towards the door. Through all the blurriness I barely made out the outline of the golden door. This was it. We were going home. Finally.

Trumping all the pain and the nausea was hope. Happiness. Joy.

* * *

><p><em>~Rin~<em>

"Are we just going to spend _all _of our time here?" I said. I sort of felt like I'd asked that question a thousand times. I was anxious to get to Grace. I couldn't stand thinking about what she was going through while I was just sitting here…relaxing.

"You seem eager to start this thing," Mikael remarked.

I rolled my eyes, "I've told you before. I don't care about myself! I care about her!"

Mikael grinned to himself, "You've told me so many times I feel like I'll never forget it."

"Yeah, I still don't understand what's happening," Shima said, raising his hand. I glanced over to where he and Izumo were sitting.

She looked annoyed, her arms crossed over her chest, "Yeah, I'd like to know what's happening too."

"And where's Grace? You guys have been missing for so long. We thought you'd died or something," Shima said.

Izumo elbowed him, "Don't say that!"

Shima looked amused. "It seems that being in a steady relationship with Shima has made you soft, Izumo," Konekomaru said, pushing his glasses farther up on his nose with one finger.

"Seriously, Okumura. You should really clear things up," Bon said. His arms were draped over the back of the couch he was sprawled out on.

I sighed, "Just wait a little longer. We'll explain everything to you."

"We've _been _waiting," Shima complained. My resistance was crumbling.

"I, for one, am not a very patient person," Izumo drawled.

"We already knew that, though," Shima said, looking down at her. She leaned into him, a slight blush on her cheeks, and gut-punched him. I chuckled as Shima held his freshly-punched abdomen.

"Rin," said a voice. I looked behind me and saw Grace's dad. I got to my feet and walked up to him.

"Whoa, is that God?" Shima asked.

"He is, in fact, the very same man that is deemed God by the one and only Grace. I trust her word, but I still have trouble believing in such an entity," Konekomaru said.

Bon stared at him, "Dude, do you ever talk normally?"

"You've known me for a long time. I figured you would already know the answer to that question by now."

Bon nodded, "Yeah, you're right. The answer is no."

"Is everything ready?" I asked. I suddenly felt more anxious than I had before…and a little nervous. The fact that he was here meant that we were getting close. We'd strike soon, and the person who had the most to lose was yours truly.

He nodded and put a hand on my shoulder, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

I stared at him, "I'm sure."

"I like the look in your eyes," he said and then smiled. He looked to me with what seemed like fatherly affection. I felt a pang as I remembered my father. He turned away from me and pressed his hand to the wall. My friends came to stand beside me.

"Whoa," Shima breathed.

"Fascinating," Konekomaru muttered.

"It's time," I said under my breath. I took a deep breath and waited. The door opened. I held that same breath. I only released it when I was able to make him out: the first angel.

A man with golden hair stepped through the portal. Brilliant, tan wings spread out behind him. He looked strong and was taller than me by a few inches. "Sir," said the angel.

"Leoric," God replied with a nod. The angel stepped out of the light and stood by the other side of the room. He was wearing golden armor that reflected the light from the window directly into my eyes. I had to look away. After Leoric, more soldiers poured into the huge room. There were so many that I lost count. Eventually they stopped coming. They all seemed to flock around Leoric, so I assumed that he was the general. I grinned at my use of the word _flock_. It was perfect for a bunch of angels.

"These are the best men that we have. If anyone can do this, they can," said God, putting a reassuring hand on my arm. I took a deep breath and turned to my friends. All of their eyes were practically bugging out of their heads. I noticed the Mikael was joining his fellow angels, speaking to friends that I suppose he hadn't seen in a long time.

"That's a lot of heavenly beings," Shima remarked. I laughed.

"I guess I should tell you what's going on now, huh?" I said. They waited expectantly, but I hesitated. How was I going to tell them this?

"Well!" Izumo demanded impatiently.

"Grace was taken by Satan and is being kept in Gehenna because she's a powerful being who is half-god half-immortal and we're going to rescue her by using me as bait and then striking with all we have directly at its source and I need your help to do it," I said, the words tumbling out of my mouth clumsily.

They stared at me, blinking. Bon was the first to speak. His response surprised me. He stood stock still, his arms crossed over his chest. His expression hadn't changed. He simply said, "Ok."

It was my turn to be surprised, "That's it?"

"What else did you want?" Shima asked, "That pretty much sums it up."

"I agree. If a friend is in trouble we'd do anything to help," Izumo said.

"This is almost statistically impossible, but I can ignore statistics if its for a good cause," Konekomaru added. Mikael joined us.

"I'm sorry to spring this on you, but there's something else you should know," he said. His gaze flitted between them, "The air in Gehenna is potentially fatal to anyone who breaths it and doesn't have demon immunization."

"Wait, then what's the point of all this?" Shima asked.

Mikael sighed, "Well…"

"I can provide that immunization, but you're not going to like how I'm going to do it," I said.

They stared at me. Bon spoke, "I'm feeling as impatient as Izumo right now."

Izumo smacked him but didn't say anything. I took a deep breath, "You have to drink my blood."

Their reactions were something comical. Shima laughed. I guess he thought I was joking. Izumo gagged. Konekomaru turned away. Bon just stared at me blankly, his eye twitching.

"I'm serious—" I began. I was interrupted by a loud banging sound. I whirled around and saw something that I never would have expected. A door was opening on the very same wall that God had opened his. I walked up to him, "Are you doing this?"

"No," he said, looking concerned, "There's only one other person who can open portals like this."

I felt my stomach tighten. Satan. I tensed and so did everyone else in the room. We waited, staring into the darkness. There was no question. This was a portal from Gehenna. My pulse raced and my vision seemed to narrow. I could only stare at one thing: the doorway. I waited and waited. It seemed like forever passed before something appeared, or rather someone. I lunged forward but froze a second later. There was absolute silence. I would have been able to hear a pin fall even without the advantage of demonic hearing.

"Grace?" I questioned. I cocked my head to the side and took a step back. Somehow I couldn't believe this was real. The person holding her fell to his knees, breathing hard.

"Please, help her," he panted. When no one did anything, his eyes grew wild. "Help her!" he shouted, "She's sick!"

I fell to my knees beside them, rushing to Grace's side. I took her into my arms. I didn't feel any of the usual warmth coming from her. She was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and was shaking violently. Somehow, though, I was glad that she was shaking. I clung to that fact. It meant that, even though she was freezing in my arms, she was _alive_.

"Grace," I said, "Grace!" I felt helpless. What was I supposed to do? I couldn't do anything about this! I finally had her back and yet I couldn't help her.

"This is worse than I imagined," said a grim voice. I turned. "Stop crying, Son. We won't lose her. I wouldn't let that happen," God said. I hadn't even realized that tears were steadily sliding down my cheeks. God knelt beside me and hovered his hand over her body. A soft, golden light was cast down upon her, making her previously greenish skin look alive again. When his hand paused over her right arm, she convulsed. She screamed out and fell onto her side. Her wings shot out from their previously concealed position. My brow furrowed when I realized they were a dismal grey. She was weak and it showed. I held her hand, willing her to feel my presence. I wanted her to know that I was there for her no matter what.

"Here," God said, "I'm sorry, Grace. This will be very painful." He lifted his arm and brought it down upon her. His fingers plunged into the flesh of her forearm and she screamed. She clutched my hand and her fingernails dug into my skin. I ignored it. I heard sickening sounds coming from her arm and I had to look away. I stared instead at the feathers on her wings. They seemed so delicate. _She _seemed so delicate right at that moment. I knew, though, that she was far from delicate. She was powerful. More powerful even than I was. My eyes widened as I registered what was happening. The feathers on her wings were steadily turning white. God stood up. I looked up at him and realized that his hand was covered in blood. Grace's blood. His face was pale and his eyes were glazed over. He went to lean against a wall and Leoric rushed to his side. I caught sight of something in God's hand, but I wasn't sure what it was.

"Rin?" said a weak voice. I turned back to her. Her eyes were closed and her hold on my hand was weak, but she was alive. I'd thank God, but he looked a little out of it at the moment. I guess I still hadn't gotten used to considering God as an all-powerful being who lived in the sky instead the dad of the girl I was in love with. It was all so strange.

"Yeah. I'm here," I said quietly.

She didn't open her eyes, but a blissful looked crossed her face. I held my breath. She was even more beautiful than I'd remembered. She seemed to glow even though she just been through all that. I pulled her closer to me and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, "Been a while."

She smiled, "You're such an idiot."

"I know."

"What a warm welcome for the girl you're in love with."

"I don't know. I feel like being apart so long has dampened my feelings for you."

"Sure it has."

I smiled, "You know that would never happen."

"Of course I do," she breathed. I gave her a soft kiss on her lips. They were the same as I remembered, but something about her being safe with me made it better than the kiss we'd shared in Gehenna. It was blissful.

I pulled away and gazed down at her. I tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. She was covered in sweat and was still a bit pale, but she was more beautiful than she'd ever been before. The only thing that marred her face was the tear that slid down her cheek.

"I'm scared," she said quietly, her voice shaking.

"Why? You're safe," I said, worried.

"I'm scared that I'll wake up any second now and I'll be back in that cell. I don't want to lose this moment. I just hope that it can last for as long as possible," she whimpered.

I pressed my forehead to hers, "Don't be scared. I won't leave you. Even if this were just a dream, which its not, you would know one thing. You'd know that, no matter what, I would come and find you. I would save you," I said quietly. That seemed to sooth her. Her head slumped against my chest and she nodded slightly.

"I love you, Rin," she breathed. She fell asleep in my arms.

I ran my hand down her soft wings, practically blinding by their whiteness. I looked back to her sleeping face again. She slept peacefully, and I was glad.

"I love you, too. But you already know that," I whispered. A tiny smiled showed up on her sleeping face and I couldn't help but wonder if she'd heard me in her sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>What did you think of their reunion? Don't worry, we'll have more lovey-dovey moments between the two. What was Rin's plan? Hmmm. I guess you'll have to wait to find out. Oh, and though you might be confused now (as I've said before) you'll understand <em>everything<em> soon! For now, though, I will leave you guessing. Yeah, I'm cruel like that. Well, leave me a review and look forward to the next update! :)**


	11. Rose-Tinted Reunion

**Sorry Sorry Sorry! *cries* I'm late again! Well, I hope the awesomeness of this chapter will make up for my less-than-pristine timeliness! *cries again* Alright, I'm done now. **

* * *

><p>~Mikael~<p>

"It's no use. There's no way that we'll be able to get him out of there," I said. I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed. Leoric raised an eyebrow.

"Are they really…" his voice trailed off. His armor clanked as he shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.

I nodded, "They really love each other. It's unusual and not ideal…but it's true."

"Love between a demon and an angel. They're on opposite ends of the spectrum, also. He's one of the strongest demons and she's one of the strongest angels."

"I suppose you're right. I don't see that as a reason why they shouldn't love each other, though. The way I see it, he makes Grace happy. That's enough for me," I said. I stared at the wall.

"You really care about her, don't you?" Leoric asked. I looked up and saw that he was staring at me. The look in his eyes told me that he thought he knew something.

"She's my sister. Of course I care about her," I said warily.

Leoric grinned, "_Half_-sister. And _technically _he isn't your father. He just gave you his blood…_made _you his son."

A dull anger started to rise up, "He _is _my father. What are you trying to say?"

Leoric straightened his back, "I'm just saying that maybe you don't care about her solely because she's your 'sister'."

I slammed him against the wall, "You're such an idiot, Leo!" With that I stalked off, wondering why I was so mad.

* * *

><p>~Judiyah~<p>

"So? Do you intend to explain this situation?" he demanded. The man who was interrogating me was relatively tall. He had long, blond hair and a confident look in his eyes. The other man—it seemed like they were friends—seemed like his opposite. He, unlike his friend, had short, dark hair and a stern look in his eye. The second man was also about a foot taller.

"I already told you what happened," I said, sighing. I tilted my head down so that my hair would cover my eyes. I nervously fiddled with a lock of hair.

The first man, the blond one, sighed, "You're saying that you _actually _are the son of Satan, you went against your father to rescue Grace, and decided to take her here where you would most likely be surrounded by enemies all the while knowing that you might die. You did all of this just because you consider Grace your friend and you couldn't let her remain in Gehenna?"

I stared at him. He'd spoken so fast that it took me a moment to evaluate that validity of his words, "Yes."

The taller man walked towards and bars and stared at me, "Look at me, demon."

I hesitated, but raised my head. I had to earn their trust, and this could be one way to do so. I looked at him directly in the eye and he simply stared back. His gaze was so piercing that I could practically feel him scanning the contents of my brain. "Um…" I said quietly.

"What is it, Kain?" the blond man asked. He took his place beside his friend who was apparently called Kain. I started to want to shrink back into the corner, to look away. There was nothing I could do, though. Even with every inch of my body crying out for me to retreat from this man, I could budge. It was like his stare pinned me down.

"He's telling the truth," Kain said, looking to his friend. I sagged with relief as his eyes flicked away from me. The momentary paralysis was gone.

"Really?" asked the man, sounding surprised.

Kain nodded but didn't say another word. The blond man frowned. It seemed that he'd expected me to be lying. It was probably because I was a demon. Angels tended to assume that demons were horrible. Well, most of them were. I can't say that wasn't true, but I didn't like the incessant condescendence I always felt when I was near angels. Granted I hadn't been around many—maybe I'd simply met condescending angels—but I could still tell that they considered themselves superior.

The man with blond hair took a deep breath and then turned to me. He leaned forward and looked at me, "What's your name?"

I stared at him. Was he trying to be friendly with me? It was hard to tell. "Um…"

"Seriously? Is it a hard one?" he asked. His tone was light. He leaned back again and crossed his arms over his chest. He flicked his head to the side so that the lock of his hair that had previously fallen over his right eye was out of the way. "My name's Elijah, but you can call me Elijah."

I stared at him, "Seriously?"

"Seriously." He raised an eyebrow and his blue eyes glinted in what little light surrounded us.

"You're really full of yourself, aren't you?" I said. Elijah took a step back. A look of pure horror crossed his face, "How could you say that?"

"Because its true," Kain mumbled.

Elijah took another step back and looked even more horrified, "I never though you, my good friend and companion would say that to me! You of all people!"

"I really want to take a needle and pop the giant balloon that is your ego," I mumbled.

He turned to me, "You've just crossed the line, Kid!"

"My name isn't 'Kid'. It's Judiyah," I said, standing up. I couldn't help but smile a little; I was a couple inches taller than Elijah. It was satisfactory to say the least.

Elijah frowned, "Don't look down on me just because you're taller. I'm going through a rough period right now. My best friend thinks that I'm a self-absorbed megalomaniac."

"I never said that," Kain grumbled. He was leaning peacefully against the wall as if nothing was the matter.

"But at least he still agrees with me about one thing!" Elijah announced proudly.

"What's that?" I deadpanned. Something about this guy really wore you out. It was like he was surrounded by a sunshine-filled aura that somehow sapped all your energy. Speaking of sunshine, his eyes shone when he next spoke.

"We both acknowledge my beauty!" Elijah said.

"Not on the inside," Kain said. Elijah looked like he'd just been stabbed in the face. Well, I guess it would be hard to look like you've been just stabbed in the face without actually undergoing said action. Let's go with slapped, that's actually possible. Anyways, he looked shocked.

"And the verbal assault isn't over," Elijah said. I was trying to think of a word that described him accurately. I had trouble because I didn't think that all of _that _could be summed up in one word. I fiddled with my hair and brainstormed.

"Drama queen," Kain said, putting a hand on my shoulder. I nodded.

"Just the word I was looking for. Well, technically two words, but it works," I said.

Kain nodded but didn't show any emotion on his face, "We should go."

"Kaaaaiiinnn," Elijah said, stretching his name out as long as possible.

"Grace," Kain said sternly.

Elijah suddenly straightened and nodded. All of a sudden he was serious. Somehow he seemed more…well…_sane _than earlier. Actually, with that sanity came a calm in which I was able to better examine him. He was actually very handsome. I guess the ego took away from that. It was the sort of handsome that blinded you and made you turn away. His hair was long and shone a brilliant golden color. His eyes were a piercing, deep blue color. I'm not saying that I'm very good at judging how attractive another guy is, but if I had to choose with a number from one to ten…11? The fact that he was wearing a pristine shirt that showed his clavicle—most likely another tactic to satisfy his ego—allowed me to make yet another observation. He was pretty muscled. Compared to me—I mostly consist of bones—his muscles were impressive.

Said muscles were nothing compared to Kain, though. Kain was also handsome, but in a different way. It was a subtle handsome that you wouldn't notice unless you really looked. He was tall and looked very strong. He had dark eyes and reddish-brown hair. His strong jaw made him look even manlier. I couldn't help but envy his strong build. If I were to guess, though, I would say that if we were to arm wrestle right there and then I would probably win. Though I looked weak, I was actually pretty strong.

"We've been told you bring you to Grace if we found that you were speaking the truth," Elijah said. He turned and left the room in silence, "Keep up or you'll get lost."

"Don't worry," Kain said as he passed by me. I followed them wondering whether Kain's words had mitigated my worries or magnified them.

We walked in silence. It was somewhat awkward at first, but soon I began to let my mind wander and I forgot that I was followed two angels through what seemed to be a labyrinth that, if abandoned, alone, and lost, I would most likely die in, (of old age, of course…maybe lack of sustenance).

Unfortunately, there was only place my restlessly wandering mind would go. Scarlet. I was full of relentless fear. Had she been discovered? If so, what would Satan do to her? Would I ever see her again? Occasionally I would remember our last moment together. My entire body would burn as I remember her lips…how she felt in my arms. I would sigh and Elijah would glance back at me. I'd look away, my face flushed. He'd stare at me for a few moments, a slight grin on his face.

Once, after this happened a few times, he'd had enough. He stopped walked and put his hands on his hips, "Who is she?"

I stared, "Who?"

"Your love," Kain said in an unnervingly monotone voice.

I took a step back, "Love?"

"You've been sighing constantly and you keep blushing. You're either in love with Kain, some girl, or me. I'm guessing that the last is the most likely," Elijah said.

I attempted to force my face to remain natural but I could feel my cheeks heating up, "Let's just go."

Elijah smiled, "He's like a little kid."

Kain sighed. "Are you in love also?" Elijah jested.

"I wish," Kain said almost inaudibly. I stared after him.

"Don't we all," Elijah said wistfully as he trailed after his friend. I stared after them. They were a strange duo, but somehow that made them seem…interesting in my eyes. Oddness can sometimes be a good thing.

* * *

><p>~Grace~<p>

I'd never really realized it, but Rin was adorable when he was sleeping. Of course, there was a small part of me that felt a burning desire to track down a sharpie and draw a mustache on his face while the opportunity was presenting itself, but I quickly stomped that part out with the figurative heel of my boot.

I turned over on my side and tried not to move my arm much. It was stolen and still hurt like a bitch whenever I tried to move it. I'd determined that it would be best not to try and lift my wounded extremity for the time being.

Rin mumbled something and I tried to understand what it was. Unfortunately I couldn't make sense of it. I smiled. Even though I had no idea what he'd said I couldn't help but find it cute. I sat up slowly and winced a bit when my arm twinged. I bit back the pain and eventually it faded. Rin was passed out in a chair beside my bed. It sort of reminded me of the time I'd broken my wing and he'd been right beside me, waiting for me to wake up.

I reached forward, (using my unscathed arm), and brushed some of his soft hair out of his eyes. His nose twitched and I laughed silently. I stood up and leaned close to his face. It memorized ever curve and line that made up his face. I guess that's something that you do when you're in love with someone. Even the tiniest things…you notice them.

I, slowly but surely, closed the distance between us. "Rin," I whispered, "Wake up." I kissed him softly, but he didn't react. I started to pull away, but, without opening his eyes, Rin reached forward and wrapped his strong arms around my waist. He pulled me snugly onto his lap and smiled against my lips. "Good morning," he whispered against my mouth. With that he kissed me again. This time, though, it was different. It wasn't a 'good morning' kiss. It was a 'I'm glad you're alive and that we're together again kiss'. If you don't know what that means 1) you've probably never been in love and 2) I'll give you some idea.

It was like the whole world revolved around the two of us. My entire body lit up and I felt uncontainable joy and ecstasy rise up coupled with limitless desire and something resembling insatiable hunger. I couldn't focus on anything but him and how his lips moved against mine. How his hands rushed greedily up and down my back as if they were searching for something. How his kisses slowly moved from my mouth to my jaw to my neck and then back up again. How it wasn't just me that was entranced. It was like he couldn't get enough of me, like if he were to let me go I'd disappear into the air. He murmured by name quietly against my skin, making me shiver. I whispered his name back. When his kisses slowed I still wanted more, but didn't protest. I curled up against his chest, careful of my arm, and closed my eyes.

"I love you," Rin whispered, "So much that it hurts me." I could hear that pain in his voice, but understood it. I felt the same.

I hid my face in his neck and his intoxicating scent drifted to my nose. I sighed and kissed right below his jaw, a spot I knew was sensitive. His whole body briefly quivered at my touch. "I wish we could stay like this forever," I said into the crook of his neck. I nibbled gently at his ear and he smiled, turning his head. He gazed at me and I closed my eyes, awaiting his kiss. To my surprise and utter delight, he kissed both of my eyelids gently and ran he fingers through my hair, "We can."

"Nothing lasts forever," I said, barely getting the words out before he kissed me again. His lips brushed mine when he next spoke.

"We will," he said.

I nodded and arched my head for another kiss. He consented and, this time, tipped my head back for a better angle. His fingers gentle slid down the back of my neck and tangled themselves in my hair. He ended the kiss, but our noses still touched.

I closed my eyes and slumped against his chest, taking his hands. He traced circles on the exposed skin of my shoulder. I smiled into his chest. "Yeah, we can," I muttered.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you liked it and aren't going to murder me for being late! *cries a third time* Don't forget to leave me your review and tell me what you thought. <strong>


	12. The Immortal Princess

_~Grace~_

I slapped Rin's hand, "Stop it, that tickles."

"Sorry," he said immediately and tilted his away sheepishly.

I smiled, "Why were you trying to touch my wings, anyway?"

His face grew dark and the previously light mood we'd had moments ago vanished. I regretted asking immediately. He avoiding making eye contact with me when he next spoke, "I'm just glad that they're not black anymore."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, "I know." We were quiet for a while.

Rin resting his head against my chest and ran my fingers through his hair. "Grace, I—"

"Shh," I scolded, "I know that you feel guilty, but its stupid. Stop it."

He chuckled, "That's my Grace. Always right to the point."

"Hey, I never feel the need to mince words. Besides, you're tough; you can take it."

He lifted his head and surprise attacked me, giving me a quick kiss. I looked into his eyes. He was smiling, but I could see in his eyes that he was still bothered by what had happened. I placed a hand on the side of his face and leaned forward for another kiss. For some reason I couldn't get enough of him.

"You're so stupid," I mumbled.

He smiled, "And you're so cute." I gasped and pulled away. He looked disappointed and was left hanging.

"What?" I demanded.

He grinned, "I said you're cute."

I sighed and nodded, "Yeah, I heard you the first time." I leaned forward and kissed him again. I then proceeded to misuse my angelic powers yet again for my own petty reasons. He flinched and pulled away, "Did you just burn my lips?"

I laughed, "You started it!"

He whimpered like a kid, "Sometimes you're so mean to me."

I nodded, "Yeah, sometimes I wonder how you manage to love me." My words surprised me. Why did I just say that? I blinked in surprise at the same time that Rin did.

"You're not serious, right?" he questioned.

I shook off my musings, "Nope."

Rin looked serious, "Good."

Just as I was about to say something to ease the situation, the door burst open and slammed against the wall.

"Sorry," said a deep, baritone voice. I stared in surprise and nearly tumbled off of Rin's lap. He caught me by the arm and I cried out. It was my wounded arm. I sort of had to wonder why it was taking so long to heal. Most of the time my injuries recovered quickly, but not this time. Rin apologized quietly.

"I didn't mean it," said the man who stood in the doorway, (more like took up the entire doorway). He was huge and slightly intimidating. He sidestepped and I realized that there were other people behind him. A man with long, blond hair stepped into the room and held his arms wide.

"We apologize _profusely _for interrupting a moment that should only be shared between two lovers," he said, bowing at the word 'profusely.'

This time I did fall off of Rin's lap. I landed on my back and my head smacked against the floor. I closed my eyes and moaned, "That was lame."

"I'm not going to argue with that," said a voice I immediately recognized. It was a voice that had spoken to me in the darkness so many times that I was able to recognize it without seeing the person it belonged to. I smiled and cracked one eye open, "I was wondering where you wandered off to."

"I didn't wander! I was abducted!" Jude protested and offered me his hand up. I took it gratefully, (with my good arm), and nodded after he hauled me to my feet.

"Abducted?" I asked.

Jude looked over his shoulder and gestured to the men, "Elijah and Kain interrogated me." He pointed to the respective men.

I frowned, "That's an idiotic waste of time."

The two men looked to one another and then back to me. In perfect unison, they bowed. I wondered briefly to myself whether or not they'd practiced this beforehand. It took me a moment to realize they were bowing to _me. _I took a step back, "Um."

"We're sorry for interfering with your friend, but it was an order from your father. We could not defy it," Elijah said.

"Um, uh, that's alright," I stuttered. I was caught by surprise. No one had even bowed to me before. They were bowing for an unusually lengthy period of time before I said, "I'd really appreciate it if you didn't bow like that."

Elijah looked up immediately and his eyes started to water. He grabbed my hand and nodded, "Just as I expected. She's so magnificent, yet also humble. You truly are an amazing girl! She's amazing, isn't she, Kain?"

Kain nodded.  
>"Just as I expected of our leader's beautiful and awe-inspiring daughter! Right, Kain?"<p>

Kain nodded.

Elijah's hands were slapped away from mine. Rin's arms wrapped around my shoulder and he hid my face in his chest. I barely peaked over his arms. I—for what was probably the trillionth time in my life and was definitely not the last time—cursed my diminutive height. "She's mine. Don't touch her," Rin said. His voice held a warning in it.

Elijah stared in shock for a moment and then his eyes darkened, "The other demon."

"Yeah, the other demon," Rin said, "You have something to say."

Elijah's whole demeanor seamed to shift. He suddenly seemed intimidating and the fierce. The previously sparkly aura he emitted had turn into a dark, menacing one. "Our Princess could never belong to a _demon_," Elijah spat. My eyes went wide. _Princess? _I'd thought of myself as many things, (deadly dwarf and tiny terror being at the top of my list), but _princess _was never one of those things.

Rin growled and hurled a blow at Elijah's face. Apparently something had tipped him over the edge. Granted, Rin had a very low boiling point, but still. I reached out to catch his arm before Elijah's face suddenly lost its ability to emit sparkles, but I didn't have to. I hadn't even seen him move, but Kain caught Rin's arm with one hand. He looked strained, but he'd managed it. Rin backed up. He looked surprised. Of course, if Rin had really used his full strength, Kain wouldn't have stood a chance. Right?

"Rin," I said quietly. I touched his arm and he seemed to return to reality. He nodded and met my eyes. I could see there that he knew that what he'd done was wrong. I smiled and turned to Elijah.

"If you would be so kind, could you tell me why you've come?" I asked Elijah. Kain backed up behind his comrade and stood still. I could tell he was carefully observing everything. Maybe that's why he was silent; that way he could better take in his surroundings.

Elijah was suddenly sparkling again, "Of course!"

"We're going to see your dad," Jude said. I turned to him and raised a brow.

"My dad?"

Jude nodded and fiddled with his hair like he usually did, "Your dad."

Elijah's next words properly conveyed his annoyance at being interrupted. I could understand that. Jude had stolen his glory. "Your father asked _me personally_ to bring you to him once you'd recovered," Elijah said, his arms crossed over his chest. He threw his hair over his shoulder and looked to me, "If you would follow, Miss." I followed him out the room, my demons flanking me.

"You can just call me Grace, you know," I said to Elijah as we walked.

He smiled at me, "I couldn't bring myself to do _that._"

Well, that left me with questions.

* * *

><p><em>~God~<em>

"Yukio Okumura," I said, smiling at the boy in front of me, "I haven't seen you for quite a while, yes?"

The Okumura boy nodded, "Correct, sir." The boy stood rigidly. I raised an eyebrow.

"There's no need to be so stiff, I'm just God, you know," I said. The boy stared at me. Apparently my attempt at joking hadn't hit home.

"Yukio?" questioned a voice. I turned.

"Ah, they have arrived," I said under my breath. Yukio's head immediately snapped to the side.

"Yukio!" Rin practically shouted. He ran across the room and barreled into his brother.

"It's good to see you, Rin," Yukio said, patted his brother's back.

"Up tight as always, Yukio!" Rin said gladly and couldn't hide his grin. Grace walked up beside them.

"Hi," she said awkwardly. _Aw, she's so adorable_. I couldn't help but think such things about Grace. She really was…adorable. I didn't dare say that, though. She'd probably hurt me.

"Hello again," Yukio said.

"In here," said a voice.

"And here is the second party," I said to myself.

Mikael stepped into the room and held the door open for the other children to step into the room. The young Exwires stood frozen in the doorway when they spotted Grace.

"Graaaaaace!" whined a high-pitched voice as a blur slammed into my daughter and held tightly, "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Shiemi," Grace said, patting her head.

Izumo and Shima stepped up next, smiles on their faces, (though Izumo's was more of a smirk). "Welcome back," Shima said cheerily.

"Yeah," Izumo said, "Not that I thought you were gone for good or anything." I couldn't help but wonder if that was something that the kids were doing these days. Last time I checked, friends didn't casually and blatantly mention to friends that they thought the other was going to die. Maybe that was just me being old, though.

"It's almost improbably that you're alive, but I'm still very much so relieved that you are," Konekomaru remarked as he stepped forward.

"Glad you're ok," Ryuji said, patting Grace's head briefly. Mikael stepped up last and smiled warmly.

"I visited you, but you were still unconscious," he said, "Sorry 'bout that."

"I was unconscious. It's not like I minded," Grace deadpanned. Mikael looked disappointed for a moment, but it seemed that only I noticed it.

"Well, its good to see you alright," he said with a smile. I knew that smile, though. It was the smile he forced when he wanted people to think he was fine, to cover up his real emotions. I narrowed my eyes. My suspicions were rising. I had a keen sense of these things. Though Mikael wasn't truly my son, I still knew him better than anyone else. I could tell when something was wrong.

"Thanks," she said with a gracious smile.

I turned to Leoric who'd been vigilantly staying by my side, my ever-present right-hand man, "You can get the rest now." He nodded subtly and turned to retrieve the rest of the angels.

I put a hand on Grace's shoulder and she turned to me, looking up at me innocently. That look made me hesitant to speak, but I knew I had to, "Grace, there's something you have to know."

I waited a moment and stared at the ground. It had fallen silent. "What is it?" she asked curiously. I was suddenly reminded of the promise I'd made to Venus. _She can't live a normal life any longer, Love. I'm sorry. _

The doors swung open and dozens of angels marching into the room, their golden, shining armor clanking repetitively. They filed into the room two by two and stood to attention. "Sir, I've brought the troops," Leoric said.

I nodded and stood straight, "Thank you." Leoric stood to the side. I looked to Grace and realized that she was glanced around in confusion. Rin, Judiyah, and Mikael came to stand by her side. Mikael leaned towards her and whispered something into her ear. Whatever it was, it only made her furrow her brow in further confusion.

I sighed and nodded. Every angel in the room took my cue readily. Row by row, every angel in the room fell to one knee in front of my daughter. She took a step back and then stopped as she bumped against Judiyah's chest.

Mikael looked to me and I nodded. We both fell to one knee as well. One by one, her friends also bowed. At the same time, Rin and Judiyah also bowed. The only one left standing was my daughter…and she looked very confused. "Dad?" she asked.

"Sorry for dropping this one on you, but…" My words were interrupted.

"All Hail the Immortal Princess!" the angels shouted at once. Grace donned an expression of utter astonishment and amazement. I rose, but the rest remained on one knee.

"What!?" Grace shouted.

* * *

><p><strong>And yet another chapter is completed! All shall be explained! And don't think I forgot about how I was going to tell you about Rin's plan! It's all part of my diabolical plan! Anyways, leave me a review. That's always nice. Yeah, that's all I've got for you guys. Uh huh. That's it. Sorry. Show's over. Regrettably, you have to wait until next Friday. <strong>


	13. A Darker Shade Of Blue

_~Scarlet~_

A sharp stinging sensation sprung up on my face for what seemed like the millionth time. I was lucky, though. Satan considered me important to him; he could use my power for his own desires. That was why he hadn't killed me…yet. I'd never minded it before. Of course I knew that he used me, always had, but that didn't bother me until recently. I suppose it was Jude's fault. He'd looked me in the face and told me that he would risk everything, go against the father that he feared, just for that girl. Grace.

My anger brimmed when I thought about her, but I stifled it. I didn't want Satan to think I was angry at him. I didn't want to think about what he would do if he saw any resistance on my part. Another slap across my face jerked me back to the harsh reality that I was suffering through. "You're such a fool! Insolent girl!" Satan shouted. He'd come here every day since they'd escaped. I could have stopped them. I didn't. Satan found out. Unimaginable pain ensued.

Satan reached up and ripped one of the nails that pinned my palms to the wall out and I screamed. He ripped the other out and my arms fell to the ground. My healing had been stunted. I sat in pools of my own blood. The stickiness and warmth of it disgusted me, even though it was my own. Satan leaned close to me and his hot breath crept down my neck. Tears slid down my face. "Pain," he growled. I tried to hide within myself, collapsing under that one word. "That's that future that awaits you, traitor."

I whimpered. "Do you regret it, Scarlet? Do you regret helping them? No? You will." With that he slammed the pins back into my flesh, this time imbedding them in my ribs. I screamed again and fell to the floor. My red hair eerily blended with the crimson of my own blood. Tears slid silently down my face. Satan kicked me a few times, but the pain was dulled. It was like I was somewhere far away. Being locked in a prison cell wasn't something that could keep me down. I could fly away. I could be free. Every time I started to float away I remembered something. I remembered someone. He brought me back down.

"I'll be back." Satan left and I sagged with relief. The guard came into the room and looked down at me with pity. He rid himself of the emotion almost immediately, not wanting to be seen showing me anything less than utter hatred. He went through the same motions he had every day. He gave me what little healing he was allowing and left the room. The sickening, heavy clunk of the lock sliding into its usual place crushed my heart.

I closed my eyes and thought. There was no way I was staying here for long. I couldn't endure this agony for much longer. Torment wasn't exactly pleasurable. There was one way, though. A glimmer of hope sprung up in the back of my mind as I shakily sat upright. I reached out weakly and dipped my fingers in my blood. Slowly—so as not to botch the design—I traced a symbol on the wall. I found it slightly creepy, drawing in my own blood, but it was the only choice I had. I didn't exactly have a plethora of artistic utensils to utilize.

I pressed my hand against the cold stone wall, each of my fingers lined up in the exact positions I knew that they had to be in for the magic to work. I'd never done this with blood, so I didn't know it if would work. Usually I used chalk.

I took a deep breath and held it as what little magic was left in me poured into the design. A fuzzy light shimmered in front of me and I backed up. I furrowed my brow and whispered under my breath. It was all that I could manage. "Judiyah."

The blurry images started to take shape. I flinched back at the light and forced myself to remain where I sat even as I longed to shrink back into the shadows. I nervously glanced to where the guard usually was, but he was strangely missing. "Scarlet?" shouted a voice.

I whirled around and tears sprang forth anew. I reached forward and touched the wall. "Scarlet, what happened to you?" Jude questioned. His voice was panicked. I suddenly realized how horrible I probably looked. Me, who was the picture of beauty, (or so I'd like to believe), was now covered in blood and crying in a dismal cell.

I opened my mouth but no words came out. Jude stepped around a table and stared at me. He looked horribly pale as he stared. I cried. Just seeing his face brought me such relief. "What's in your side?" Jude asked. He stepped forward again. I realized that there were other people behind him only when that girl, Grace, stepped forward.

"Scarlet?" she asked. I couldn't stand her pity.

"What's that in your side?" Jude repeated. I tried to hide the stake-like nail that was embedded in my rib cage. His pain worsened my own pain. I didn't want him to see. I didn't want him to know. Somehow, I didn't want him to come for me. I wanted him to stay in Assiah, that far away world that seemed like heaven to me. It might as well have been, but I knew Caelum was _much _farther from me. I would never reach that height.

"Well, if it isn't my _other _son," growled a voice. I turned slowly and spotted the guard looking ashamed. Satan stood behind me in the doorway. I shrunk back and pressed myself against the wall as if I could disappear altogether. Satan grabbed my wrist and pulled me forward, slamming his fist into the nail in my side. I screamed out until I couldn't anymore. I hung limply by one arm. Satan held me close and yanked the nail from my side. I couldn't make a sound; I was only able to silently cry out as I slowly drowned in pain.

He held his face close to mine and turned to Jude. He smiled wickedly. "Let her go!" Jude screamed. "You son of a bitch!" Jude yelled. He looked like he was about to rip his hair out. A mad, desperate look shone in his dark eyes and sweat dripped down his forehead.

"You really do love her, don't you?" Satan said, horrifying delight in his unnervingly silky voice.

"Jude," I rasped. My fingers twitched and my eyes slid shut.

"I imagine you'd rather her returned to you with a pulse, yes?" Satan paused for a few moments. "Then you know what you have to do." The image shimmered and disappeared, leaving us in stifling darkness. I had never wished more that I hadn't been discovered. At the same time, I had never been surer that what I'd done was right.

* * *

><p><em>~Jude~<em>

I was on my knees, shivering. I clutched my hair tightly. Blood. That was blood. There was a nail in her side. That scream…

"Jude," said a quiet voice. I snapped back to the present but kept my face hidden. "Jude," repeated the voice. Warmth encircled my hands and gently removed them from my hair. "Jude," Grace whispered.

I stared at the ground. She tilted my head up, but I wouldn't look at her. "We'll save her," Grace said as she wrapped her arms around me. I stopped shivering. "I give you my word." I rested my head on her shoulder.

"Sh-She was…" I started. I choked on my words.

Grace nodded slowly, "I know. I saw."

"I couldn't…"

"Yeah," she said quietly, pain evident in her tone. I held on tightly to her arm like it was my lifeline. Why had I left her there? Had she known that this would happen? I should have forced her to come with us!

"Who…who was that?" asked a voice.

Grace spoke up. "Scarlet. A demon. A friend."

"He said you knew what you had to do," Rin said, kneeling beside us, "What does that mean?"

I raised my head slowly and looked at my half brother, "You don't know?"

"He wants you to return to Gehenna, doesn't he?" Grace asked.

I glanced at her. She really didn't know. I figured it would have been obvious. I wondered if it would be right to tell her the truth. She would definitely charge off for Scarlet's sake…for my sake. I couldn't let that happen, though.

I shook my head, "I thought you knew."

"He wants something from us…you know what it is," Grace said. Pain erupted in my chest as I weighed my options. I couldn't fight it any longer. There was one thing that took up most of the room in my heart, in my mind. That was my love for Scarlet. Anything else took a back seat.

I looked Grace in the eye coldly, "He wants the immortal princess. He wants his weapon back. He wants to use you. He's planning something. I don't know what it is, but he needs you for his plan. You can't escape him. You never will."

My head collided with the cold marble and my vision blurred momentarily. When it came back into focus I saw the enraged face of Rin above me. His fingers tightened on my throat and I grasped his wrist. "She's not going back there!" he roared.

"Why? Because you love her?" I questioned.

That only angered him more. Blue flames erupted around us and red rings formed around his pupils. It wasn't intimidating to me, though. I'd seen it many a time from my father. This was nothing compared to the fear I felt when Satan's anger was directed towards me.

"You have a problem with that?" Rin shouted. His tail flicked behind him and he threw me through the air. I landed as gracefully as I could, my feet skidding to a halt on the marble floor. Flames roared around Rin and we stared each other down. "The girl I love is here right now. Alive. That's all that matters to me!" he shouted. Anger surged within me at that.

"At least you have that much!" I screamed, "Can't you see anything?!"

"Jude, don't!" Grace's voice was drowned out by the sound of rushing blood in my ears. I couldn't contain it any longer. "Everyone needs to get out of here!" Grace shouted. I ignored it. Power flowed within me, every cell in my body brimming with it. Heat seared my veins and fury bubbled within me. When I next spoke, my voice came out in a deep, husky manner, "The girl I love is being tortured by my father in Gehenna! You seem like you should understand that!"

"And you think I should sacrifice Grace for that?!" Rin's flames grew higher.

"RIN! JUDE! STOP IT!" Grace screamed. I'd reached the breaking point. Flames poured out of me. Hot, hungry flames blackened the stones around where I stood. They coursed around the entire room, encircling us completely. Rin took a step back in surprise.

"You're not the only one, Rin Okumura!" I bellowed. I lunged for him and easily overpowered him. I slammed him to the ground and hovered over him menacingly.

Rin grinned even as my grip tightened on him, "You're even worse than I am."

Grace's voice finally reached me, "Jude, look at yourself!" I glanced down and stumbled backwards in surprise. Rin got to his feet as I looked down at my hands. They were blackened, just like the marble around us. Had I…burnt my own skin? I fell to my knees and Grace tried to step forward.

"Get away from me!" I bellowed. A shockwave of my energy sent her flying.

"What are you doing, you idiot!?" Rin shouted over the roaring of the flames around us.

"I don't know!" I shouted back.

"Jude, you need to calm down!" Grace yelled. Her wings were out and they were almost blinding me, "I don't want to do this to you!"

"I c-can't!" I shouted back, "I don't know how to stop it!" All of the anger I'd felt had rushed away from me and was now replaced with relentless panic. I had no idea what was happening, much less how to control it.

"Just do it, Grace!" Rin shouted. She nodded and looked at me. I stared at her as she started to glow.

"This might hurt, Jude!" she shouted. I prepared myself, strangely longing for whatever she was about to do. Anything was better than feeling that way. I felt almost…possessed by the flames.

Grace's wings shone so brightly that I had to look away. Suddenly I was slammed backwards, pressed against the wall. All energy left me and I crumpled to the ground. There was no way I could ever stand a chance against such sheer force. Silence ensued.

"Jude?" asked a tentative voice. I cracked my eyes open slowly. "It's good to see you're alive. I was worried there for a second."

"What did you do?" I asked, attempting to sit upright but instead clumsily falling onto my side. "It hurts." And that was more than true. I hurt…a lot.

"I'm not really sure," Grace said. A bit of fear shone in her voice, but she cleared her throat and spoke again with confidence, "Sorry."

I nodded weakly, "No…thank you."

If Grace really had been the one to cause that—whatever _that _had been—then the reason as to why Satan so desired Grace was suddenly much clearer to me. She really was amazing. Amazing, but also…terrifying.

* * *

><p><strong>Late again...I feel like this is becoming regular for me. Sorry, but you might have to start expecting it. From now on, let's say that I'll update <em>around <em>Friday. Sorry? Anyways, this was, (again), a filler. Apologies. *Bows***

**Leave me a review if you'd like...I always like those! :)**


	14. Belrthmo

**Sorry! I kept getting error messages when I tried to submit the document, (it's not my fault! I had it done on Friday!)**

* * *

><p><em>~Grace~<em>

"What time do you think it is?" I asked. Rin was quiet. I poked his cheek, "Did you hear me?"

He nodded but didn't open his eyes. He was exhausted. As soon as we'd gotten back to my room at the academy—finally resuming classes after so long was strange but I welcomed it—he'd collapsed onto my bed. I considered moving him, but he looked so comfortable that I'd resorted to sitting on the edge of my bed. Somehow he managed to sprawl out so completely that his head ended up on my lap.

I leaned my head against the wall behind me and sighed, "I'm not a pillow, you know."

I thought he was asleep due to his silence, but he then mumbled something, "You smell nice. I missed it." I felt my cheeks light up and then suddenly had an urge to touch him, to comfort him.

"I missed you every second," he said as I reached for him. I slid my fingers across his forehead and he sighed. I couldn't resist weaving my fingers in and out of his hair. I traced the curves of his face: his lips, his eyes, and his slightly pointed ears. I'd gone soft, but that didn't seem so bad anymore. If it meant that I could be with Rin like this, I'd rather be soft than my tough self. I'd been tough…but lonely. This was a thousand times better.

"That feels nice," he said sleepily.

"Mm-hm," was my only response. I leaned forward to get a better look at his face. His ears were a reminder that he was a demon, but I didn't mind. He was _my _demon, after all. He looked so innocent when he was sleeping; very different from how he looked when those blue flames were billowing around him. My hair brushed his cheek. He smiled and reached up, taking the lock and twisting it around his finger. He opened his eyes slightly and stared at me. I stared back.

"Thanks," Rin said, covering his eyes with his arm. He clutched my hair tightly in his hand.

"For what?" I asked, a bit worried.

"For not hating me," he said, his voice cracking. I sighed and reached forward. When was he going to figure out that I loved him more than anything? I took his arm and pulled it away from his face. He looked up at me, his eyes shining and his expression desperate.

I put a hand on the side of his face and brushed his cheek with my thumb. I smiled and tilted my head to the side, "If you keep talking like that, I'll kill you."

He froze and then smiled, "Sorry. When you were gone, I just sort of…lost it." I sighed and nodded. We were silent for a moment. He looked away for a moment, staring at the wall. When he turned back to me, in a quick, fluid motion, he grabbed me and trapped me between his arms. He pinned me against the wall and stared at my face. I placed my hands, hesitantly, on his chest. His eyes flicked between mine as if he couldn't choose where on my face to focus his attention. He finally chose; his eyes hovered over my lips.

I slid my hands across his chest as he kissed me. I smiled against his lips, "You're such an idiot." He didn't stop kissing me. Instead, he ripped off his shirt. I froze and stared at him. We'd been dating for a long time now, but not once had I seen him like this. He was breathing heavily, which only made his defined muscles that much more beautiful. I reached out to touch him and traced the lines on his chest. He shivered and grabbed my wrist. His fingers crept under the hem of my shirt.

Slam. The door flew open. I then experienced the most embarrassing moment of my life. Rin was frozen in his position, (about to rip off my clothes). Mikael stood in the doorway, his hand still on the knob. We made what seemed to been unending, awkward eye contact. His face turned bright red and I doubt mine could have gotten any redder. "I…need to tell you something. When you're…done." Tap. Click. The door shut again.

* * *

><p><em>~Mikael~<em>

My heart was pounding. I covered my face with my hands and shook my head. I'd just seen something that I…really shouldn't have seen. Rin was…Grace was…I shivered and pressed my forehead against the wall. I paced back and forth, trying to figure out where to put my hands. I swung them back and forth and shoved them in my pockets nervously.

I turned when the door opened, somewhat relieved to see Grace. My heart twisted a bit when I noticed that she looked evidently flustered and unkempt. Her hair wasn't quiet in order and her clothes were crumpled and lopsided. Her face was pink and she wouldn't meet my eye. "What did you need to tell me?" she asked.

I cleared my throat, "Your father wants to see you."

She looked up, surprised, "Now!? It's late!"

"It's urgent," I said, "I'll see you there." With that I practically ran away. I wasn't feeling too good about myself. I'd just barged in on something I shouldn't have barged in on. It was way too awkward for me to be comfortable.

* * *

><p><em>~Rin~<em>

I'd ended up coming with her. Grace was the only one who had been called, but her dad had probably assumed that I would tag along. If not, I would just leave. I knew that Grace was now the 'Immortal Princess'. That made her one hundred times as important as I was, but I figured it couldn't hurt to go along.

"Father?" Grace asked, worry in her voice, as we entered the room. Grace's dad was sitting at a long table. Leoric, Elijah, Kain, and Yukio were also gathered around the table. There were three more seats open. I followed behind Grace and took my seat beside her. There was a heavy silence. I was waiting for someone to speak, but no one did. I've never been very patient. "What is it?"

"I was going to wait to tell you this, but the situation has changed," he replied. He looked to each of us. I shot a questioning look towards Yukio, but he just shrugged. Just then, Mikael entered the room and stood beside Rin's dad. Wasn't he going to sit down? Also, why did it seem like this guy always knew everything before I did?

"I don't mean to pry, but what exactly is the situation? We have our princess, what else matters?" Elijah asked.

Grace stiffened, "You've forgotten about Scarlet!"

Elijah smiled charmingly yet coldly, which should have been impossible. "You mean the demon? What about her?"

"I have a knife! A very large one!" Grace growled. She reached for her boot, but I took her hand. She stopped and looked to me. I shook my head.

"Are you done?" asked Grace's dad. She slowly nodded, as did Elijah.

"This is indirectly related to Scarlet, the demon that is being abused by Satan," he said. He looked to Grace, "When you returned to us, your very existence was in danger. You'd been poisoned."

"What?" Grace demanded, leaning forward. My muscles tensed, an overwhelming urge to grab Grace and never let her go, always protect her, welled up inside of me. I suppressed it. I doubted that Grace's dad would be very appreciative of such an act in the middle of the important meeting.

"By whom?" Yukio asked. I glanced gratefully to my brother and then returned my attention to the subject at hand.

"By Belrthmo," he replied. We were quiet. By bel…_what? _

As if taking the words from our mouths, Kain asked in his deep, baritone voice, "Bel-what?"

"Belrthmo," he repeated, "A weapon designed by Satan himself. A demon. A monster."

"That…_breathing _thing?" Grace asked. God looked up and stared at her.

"You saw what it looked like?" he asked.

"It grabbed me," she said and shivered. I rested my hand on hers and she clutched it.

He shook off his worry and spoke again, "Scarlet is a well known demoness. She has lived a long, long time. Her exploits have been recorded throughout history. She is Satan's most prevalent servant. That is why she won't kill her. That is also why he's most likely entrusted her with something."

"She's the only one who will be able to destroy Belrthmo. Now, she is in danger."

"That's quiet a large expanse of information to take in all at once," Elijah said. Kain grunted in agreement.

"That's not all. Judiyah, her apparent acquaintance, has returned to Gehenna, intent on rescuing her from Satan." Grace squeezed my hand tighter, obviously worried about her friend. She was the princess, though. She couldn't show weakness in that position. "His presence will aggravate the situation, and Scarlet could end up destroyed. Satan's sons have betrayed him in the past," he glanced at Yukio and I, "And now it has happened again. He is most likely in a rage. I can't let Scarlet be killed. You cannot understand how devastating Belrthmo would be if it were to be released. Caelum, Assiah, and Gehenna itself would be endangered. We can't let it happen."

"What are you saying?" I asked.

Yukio answered, "Isn't it obvious? We need to go to Gehenna and destroy this demon. It's the only way. In order to do so, we'll need to receive Scarlet. And we need to do all this quickly, before Satan's anger reaches the breaking point."

"You do realize that such an act would mean war? That Assiah could potentially be destroyed anyway, maybe even Caelum?" Elijah asked.

"I understand," God answered, "But the only way we can win is if we fight."

We were quiet, taking in what we were going to do. "This is intriguing," Elijah said with a subtle and delighted grin. He seemed to be a sparkly, he-she on the outside, but on the inside he was evidently a sadist. War was never good…never.

But we didn't have any choice at this point.

* * *

><p><strong>Don't forget to leave me a review and tell me what you thought of the chapter. <strong>


	15. Pre-Plan

**So, I've missed two Fridays. Sorry. I'd shoot an excuse your way, but I don't feel like it. So, yeah...**

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><p><em>~Mikael~<em>

"I'm really not sure about this plan," Mikael said, "I was willing to go along with it last time, but I don't like this."

"I don't either!" Rin insisted.

"Stop being idiots," Grace grumbled, "We don't have any other choice."

"There's _got _to be another way!" I practically shouted. Grace eyes me and frowned.

"If you come up with one, you're free to speak your mind." I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. She'd stumped me.

"I'll do it! I don't want you to—"

"And I don't want _you _to!" she yelled back. Rin froze and then his eyes clouded with anger. I was hesitant to step forward and stop them. Something told me that this wasn't something I should intrude on. The tense feeling in the air told me so.

"Besides, he doesn't want you as much as he wants me," Grace said, crossing her arms.

"I don't care," Rin growled.

"You should. If this doesn't work, we won't be able to help Scarlet," she said.

"You mean Jude."

"Don't, Rin." Grace was serious about this. I didn't like the idea at all, obviously. I wanted to find some other way, but as far as I could see, there wasn't one. The two were silent for a long time. I finally sighed and stepped forward.

"I guess…I understand," I said quietly. I clenched my fists and glanced up at Grace. She was smiling at me.

"Thanks." I nodded, but couldn't bring myself to return her smile. The danger that Grace was putting herself in was staggering. Judging by the condition she'd come back in, this could go horribly wrong. Not to mention that…dark Grace that we'd met.

Rin closed his eyes and walked towards her. All at once, he seemed to lose his energy. He slumped forward and resting his head on her shoulder. She smiled and held his head. I awkwardly looked away.

"I'll be alright." She was speaking softly as if she was afraid to upset him but at the same time wanted to comfort him.

"I don't want to give you back to him," Rin said, his voice pained. There was a moment of silence.

"I know. To be honest, I'm afraid. I don't want to go back. I have to, though. For my friends. For the good of…well, every world in existence, I suppose."

"Why did it have to be…you?"

"There isn't an answer to that question," she replied, "But you shouldn't worry. I'm stronger now, after all."

"I don't care if you're stronger. You're still the girl I love and I'm still going to worry about you!" he shouted. He'd lifted his head and stared her in the face. She only smiled in return.

"I love you, too," she said. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek, "But I'm tougher than you are."

"Hey, that's not—"

She laughed, "Don't even try and say that it's not true!" She pointed at him. "You're weaker than me and you know it!"

"Am not!" he protested.

She held out her hand and a shining blade appeared. She was right about be stronger than she used to be. It was much brighter than how I'd seen it before.

"Wanna test me?" she taunted.

Rin shook his head and smiled, "I'll see it for real soon."

"Yeah, and I'm going to beat the shit out of Satan."

"With my help," he added.

She grumbled her response, "Yeah, with your help."

The two were really a strange couple. They argued with each other constantly, yet even when they were mad with each other, I could still tell that they loved each other. It was clear in the way he looked at her and the way she looked at him. I guess I worried a lot about her, about whether or not it was alright to be with a demon. Seeing them together like that seemed to lessen my worries, though.

"Hey, we're not weird!" Grace shouted.

"Oh, did I say that out loud?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah, man. You did. Now she's going to kill you," Rin said with a cruel grin. Instead of attacking me, Grace elbowed Rin in the rib cage.

"What was that for?" he protested.

"I don't just go around hitting people because they call me weird," she said, turning up her nose.

"Oh, right. You only hit them when they call you short or cute," Rin mumbled. She elbowed him again and he grunted.

"No, I _stab _them when they call me cute or mention my less-than-satisfactory stature," she hissed.

Rin laughed, "You really are weird." As soon as he said that, the door slammed open.

"Princess, it's about time to prepare for our departure," Elijah said. I looked to Grace. She'd suddenly lost all of her playful demeanor. She now looked completely composed and regal. It was strange watching such a transformation.

"Of course it is," she said, "I'll be out in a moment. Give me a minute." Elijah nodded, glancing annoyed at Rin before he shut the door gently behind him. Grace took a deep breath and walked up to me.

"Mikael, I'm counting on you today. I'll really be needing you," she said. She looked up at me and I saw strength in her that wasn't there before. I nodded, "Just stay alive, ok?"

She smiled and watched me as I walked towards the door. Before I left her, I turned and took one last glance at her. We were about to go on a very dangerous mission, and it was possible that she'd get hurt or even lost her life. I didn't want to think about that, though. Instead, I filled my head with more optimistic thoughts. She was the most powerful out of all of us, except for maybe God himself. I had to trust in her strength. I had to trust in her.

"You, too." I smiled. With her on our side, I doubted that we could lose.

* * *

><p><em>~Grace~<em>

I turned back to Rin who was slumped against the table at the center of the room. The geometrically patterned tiles that he stood on were shining in the dim light. "You know, you look different right now," I said. It was true. His blackish hair blended with the darkness of the room. His slumped posture looked almost majestic; it occurred to me that called your boyfriend 'majestic' was a bit odd, but I didn't care. He looked it, so I thought it.

"What does that mean?" he asked, raising his head slowly.

"I don't really know," I answered, walking towards him.

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. When I reached him, I leaned into his chest. He sighed and took me in his arms. "I know this isn't a very manly thing to say, but I'm afraid," he whispered to me. His arms tightened around me slightly.

"Me too, so I don't find you any less manly for saying that," I whispered back.

"We should go," he said.

"Yeah," I responded. We were quiet, both understanding each other. Neither of us wanted to leave in the slightest. I knew I had to and the burden of that knowledge weighed me down. It nagged at the back of my mind, but I managed to forget about it for a few moments. I lifted my head and looked at Rin. Really looked at him. He did the same.

I sighed and placed my hand on his cheek, his hair brushing softly against my fingers, "I'll be seeing you."

He turned his head and kissed my palm, "Yeah." I couldn't stand it any longer. I arched my neck and stole a kiss from him. It didn't last long, but it was enough. "That'll tide me over until next time," I said with a forced smile.

"It won't tide me over," he said. With that he pulled me against him and enveloped me in his warmth. My whole body buzzed with his closeness and fisted his shirt tightly in one hand. He whispered my name in between kisses. It was as if he believed that if he said it enough, he wouldn't have to let me go. A knock on the door interrupted us and I pulled away. I held his hand at a distance.

"Good enough?"

"Yeah, that'll last me," he said, "Probably." My hand slid from his and I was all too aware of the shocking cold that the distance left me with. I didn't hesitate as I strode towards the door. I grabbed the handle and pulled it open. Several soldiers included Elijah, Kain, Leoric, and Yukio were waiting for me on the other side. I took a deep breath and stepped into the light.

They all looked to me and for the first time I really felt the weight of what we were doing. We were about to charge into Gehenna and launch a full frontal attack. It was dangerous and stupid, but it was going to work. It had to work, because if it didn't, everything we knew would be destroyed. Our pasts, presents, and futures would vanish. I wasn't going to let that happen, so I would lead them. I would be strong in the face of danger so that our worlds, all of our worlds, wouldn't disappear.

I had only two words. "Let's go."

* * *

><p><strong>Soon, you will find out about Rin's plan. Look forward to it. Leave me a review?<strong>


	16. Formation

**I sort of got carried away with the whole 'it's finally freaking summer' high, and so I didn't really bother updating recently. Sorry if you hate me now, but I've still got a chapter for you. Yay?**

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><p><em>~Judiyah~<em>

He knew I was here; _I _knew he knew I was here. It was unnerving to say the least. I was well aware that he could watch every move that I was making, but I wasn't sure why he hadn't done anything about it. My father must have had a reason. I didn't know what it was, but there had to be some use he had for me; otherwise, he would have already acted.

Luckily for me, I knew exactly where I was going, (or unlucky...I suppose spending my entire life in that god forsaken castle wasn't entirely _lucky_). I felt the darkness creeping in on me as I walked, though. After being in Assiah with Grace and the rest for a while, I'd gotten used to the light. I suppose that's why I felt so uneasy.

I turned the last corner before I spotted the door that lead to the prisons. I could remember visiting this place to watch over Grace when she was still here very clearly. It felt like so long ago, so long since I'd escaped with her...since I'd left Scarlet. I grimaced as I yanked the door open. It was strange. I'd expected to be forced to fight off several demons and maybe even face my father, but no one had opposed my advance. It was legitimate reason for caution, but I was too worried about Scarlet to consider my own safety.

I jogged down the hallway, flicking my tail from side to side in anticipation. "Scarlet," I called out. I didn't see any reason to keep my voice quiet. Instead, I called out loudly. There wasn't any answer the first three times I called. I continued to run down the long passageway, glancing into each cell to see if Scarlet was there. The fourth time I called her name, there was a weak reply. "Ju…"

I froze and backed up a few steps. I slowly looked to my left, a bit afraid to see what was there. When I laid eyes on Scarlet, my breath caught. I rushed to the bars that confined her and grasped them tightly. Blue flames lit up around my fingers and turned the tainted iron a glowing, angry orange. When the metal was finally melted enough, I kicked the bars in. I rushed to Scarlet's side, touching her face gently. "What has he done to you?" I asked. My voice broke slightly.

Scarlet licked her lips and tears slid from the corners of her eye, "Jude…"

I nodded and pressed my forehead to hers, "I'm here. Did you think I would just leave you?"

She shook her head slowly. I looked to her hands and saw that there were nails embedded in her skin. I placed my hand over them, "This'll hurt, Scarlet." Her only reply was a nod. I took a deep breath and kissed her cheek, "I'm sorry."

I yanked the nails out of her flesh at the same time. She squeaked, but didn't make any other sound. It scared me that she was so weak that she couldn't even scream out in pain any longer. Her arms fell to her sides. I slowly wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly. She was so thin. "I'm sorry I left you," I whispered into her ear.

She pressed her face into the crook of my neck, "...love...you."

I felt her fingers on my lips and I kissed them, holding her wrist up. I nodded and fought away tears. If I cried in front of her, I'm sure it would hurt her. "I love you, so don't cry," I choked out.

She let out a weak laugh, "It's your fault, idiot."

"Yeah, it's my fault," I said, lowering my lips to hers. I gently kissed her, afraid that, if I kissed her as much as I wanted to, she'd break.

"How touching," said a cold voice. I froze and looked up, attempting to hide Scarlet's body from him with my own. I glared at my father, who was standing in front of the now-fixed iron bars. I growled at him, a deep sound echoing in my throat.

"Well, thank you for coming here on your own; it saved me the trouble of finding you and dragging you here. Though, you are very predictable," Satan said, turning to leave. "I suppose, because I'm so _generous_, I'll let you two stay in the same place. I bet that blood smell will start to make you nauseous soon, _Son_."

I watched as he walked away and then turned back to Scarlet. I eased her upright and pulled her close to me. She curled up close to me and I wrapped my arms around her to warm her up, "I won't leave you again, Scarlet."

"I'd kill you if you did," she mumbled.

I smiled, "I know."

Though our situation was dire-being trapped in my father's dungeons and all-I still felt a sense of peace.

* * *

><p><em>~Mikael~<em>

"Are you sure we're going in the right direction?" I asked.

"Who are you to question me?" Leoric said indignantly.

"Last time I checked, you were the most directionally challenged person I know, Leo," I pointed out.

"I seriously spent hours memorizing this," he said as we turned around another corner and ran down a long hallway lined with dimly glowing torches. I didn't question him again as we made our way through the labyrinthine castle of Satan.

"Well, it's a good thing that those Exwires aren't here," Leoric said calmly.

"Why's that?" I asked.

Leoric shot me a sideways glance and smiled. He reached to his waisted and quickened his pace. I watched as he unleashed his wings and launched himself forward. I followed his lead and drew my blades as well, "What's going on?"

"If those kids were here, we'd be in trouble," Leoric repeated.

"Why!?"

"Because they're humans," he said with a smile. With that he jumped forward and fell sideways. I noticed just a moment later that there was a huge chasm in the middle of the hallway. "What the…" I began. I couldn't finish, though, because I had to focus on the task at hand. I launched myself from the rough stones that made up the hallway. I zipped through the air for a few short seconds before I spread my wings and caught the strong updrafts. I beat my wings a few times and rose to Leoric's level.

"If they were here...they'd be either dead or left behind by now," Leoric said honestly.

I nodded, "I see what you mean now."

"Yeah. Come on."

"Are you sure we're not lost?"

"The Princess gave me pretty flawless instructions. I don't think I could get lost even if I tried. Besides, if I _do _get lost, she'll definitely kill me; that's a fairly strong motivator," Leoric said as we started towards the other side of the pitfall.

I laughed, "She'd _definitely _kill you. Alright, then. It's about time we find those demons."

Leoric nodded as we landed on the ledge opposites where we jumped, "You've got that right."

* * *

><p><em>~Grace~<em>

"It's not much farther...I think," I said calmly. Well, it sounded calm; I was actually flipping out on the inside. If you think about it, though, I had a good reason to flip out. I was responsible for the dozens of angel warriors following me through the endless hallways of Satan's palace in Gehenna so that I could hopefully find the king of all demons, relying on only the faintest idea of the location of my destination; it was a hell of a day...pun very much intended. To make it all so much better, I had Rin following on my heels like a worried puppy; I didn't doubt that aforementioned puppy would become instantaneously vicious were I to be threatened, though. That didn't exactly comfort me. Sure, I was glad he was here, but I was also worried about him. That's sort of how love works, I guess.

"You think?" Rin asked skeptically.

"Shut up," I growled as we ran, "This place doesn't exactly bring back the best memories for me." Rin scowled, but he shut up. Just then, I skidded to a stop. Rin slammed into my back and sent me flying. I landed on my hip and glared up at him, "You suck."

He offered me his hand, "Just because you're stressed doesn't mean you have to take it out on me." I smiled and took his hand. I could tell he was trying to lessen the tenseness around us by his joking tone.

"Why'd you stop?" he asked as he pulled me up. My anger at him sending me flying, (curse you tiny stature!), had almost made me forget why I'd stopped in the first place. I turned to my soldiers and my boyfriend.

I immediately resumed my commanding demeanor, "Get ready. Something's coming." They immediately tensed and assembled in the formation we'd planned out ahead if time. The formation took advantage of the tight space; it was sort of like the Spartan formation...just a bit of Assiah's history I remembered.

I reached down and pulled my daggers out of my boots, "I don't know what it is, but I can sense it very strongly now. It's something big."

"This is so the stereotypical 'something's coming' scene from horror movies," Rin pointed out.

I smiled, "Pretty much, yeah. Don't drop your guard. I'm pretty sure just because I'm the cute girl I won't get out alive this time."

"You're right. You're the dumb one who dies first," he said, his ears perking up.

I frowned, "Ha."

"Oh, a dark, damp, eerie cellar...I should go in!" he said, raising his voice.

"I do not sound like that!" I protested. Right at that moment, the entire hallway erupted into noise. A few of the stones that made up the walls dislodged and what seemed like a thick black cloud pours from the gaps. My soldiers backed up helplessly; they had sword and spears...they couldn't do anything about this kind of enemy.

"Stay in formation! Protect each other's backs!" I shouted over the shouts. The buzzing of the black intruders almost drowned out my voice, but my comrades heard me. They tightened their formation and did their best to defend themselves. I looked to Rin, "You're thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Aren't I always?" he said with another one of his cocky smiles.

I shook my head, "Just focus, ok? Don't hurt the others." He nodded and we charged forward. Ever since I'd been recognized as 'the Princess' I'd discovered that I was seriously more capable that I'd ever thought I was beforehand. This was as good as any of a time to tap into my newfound powers. As soon as I focused hard enough, light began pouring from me and I felt light. The only way to get rid of so many tiny demons, (I seriously despise coal tars), was to wipe them all out at once. If you don't do it that way, they just swarm together again and you have to start all over from the top.

As I charged forward, carefully memorizing the positions of all of my allies, Rin ran alongside me. He drew his sword and bright flames flared up around him. He winked at me, and, at the same time, we released our power. His blue flames surged around the troops on the right side, eliminating all coal tars they came into contact with. The bright light the pierced the darkness, originating in my palms, took out the coal tars on the left side. I stopped running and let my powers mellow down; we were back to only torchlight.

The other angels looked at me with stunned expressions. "Is everyone alright?" I asked, worried. I made contact with a particularly scratched up looking soldier and he pointed to the ground beside him, "Zeth inhaled some coal tars."

"Shit," I said, running forward. I nudged Rin, "You're not going to like this at all." He looked at me with a confused expression. I'd thought that we'd acted quickly enough, but apparently we hadn't. If one of my people had inhaled coal tars, I was going to have to rely on my angelic powers...yet again. I knelt behind Zeth; the purpleness of his face was disturbing. He was gasping for air. He was clearly in pain, but that's what you would expect if you swallowed coal tars. They were some seriously deadly demons when they banded together.

"Try not to move," I said to Zeth. He couldn't even nod, but I didn't blame him for that. I leaned forward and-don't judge me instantaneously...I didn't _want _to do it!-_kissed _him. Ok, so I didn't _really _kiss him. It was closer to CPR. It's sort of weird, and I really have no idea how I knew to do this, but I pretty much breathed some of my angelic powers into this guy. I don't even want to know what Rin's face looked like at that moment...or any of my other soldiers for that matter. I pulled away and Zeth's face slowly returned to its normal color.

I breathed a sigh of relief and got to my feet, "You alive, soldier?'

He blinked and smiled, "You know how people say that your life flashes before your eyes when you're about to die?"

"Uh...yes?"

"That's not what flashed before my eyes," he said with a dazed, somewhat dreamy smile.

"Yeah, that really happened," deadpanned one of the other soldiers. Zeth blinked.

"Wait, seriously?" he asked. His cheeks turned a bit pink. The guy was pretty young compared to the others, so it was no wonder he reacted the way that he did.

"Ease off, man," Rin said, stepping between us, "Don't you normally thank someone when they save your life?"

Zeth got to his feet and coughed a few times. He bowed, "Thank you, Princess." I smiled.

"Just glad you're not dead," I said as casually as I could, "Come on, then. This isn't exactly something we can be late for." As we walked, the rest following behind us, Rin leaned close to me and whispered into my ear.

"You attract a lot of weird guys."

I laughed, "That includes you, you know?"

* * *

><p><strong>Alright! Everyone's in their positions for the next big chapter. I'm really sorry that it took me so long, but I had a little trouble writing this one. The next one will be coming up, but I've got to catch up on several of my other stories as well, so it might be a while. Anyways, leave me a review...I always appreciate those profusely. <strong>


	17. Left Behind

**Sorry it's been so long! I'd like to warn you ahead of time that this chapter is a bit****…****dramatic****…****and depressing. It's all my fault! It's 3 AM right now, but I finished it! Read on, and I'm sorry again that it's so****…****sad. It's touching too, though. Just saying. Also, sorry, but I didn't edit it. I figured timeliness would be more important that quality. :)**

* * *

><p><em>~Mikael~<em>

My entire body felt tense. This was the worst part of our plan, of Grace and Rin's plan. I willed myself not to get up and go and find Grace. She was in the most danger out of all of us. The bait always was.

The plan relied unnervingly heavily on timing. If Grace's group didn't arrive before Elijah's or ours, the plan would collapse. Satan's ability to monitor everything in his castle, his eye, was where Elijah's group was heading. They were in charge of destroying the eye.

Grace's group was the bait. It consisted of our strongest angels, Grace, and Rin. That idiot. He'd insisted that he was to be in her group even though he should have been in Leo's. It didn't matter, though. As I thought, there was no separating those two. What Satan wanted more than anything, for obvious reasons, was Grace herself. He wanted her dead or a slave. If he couldn't have her power, no one else could. That's why Grace was the bait, the distraction so that Leo's group, my group, could strike.

Our main goal: Belrthmo. We needed to get close enough to it that we could destroy it without having an unfortunate run-in with Satan. To do so, we needed to disable his eye and distract him. Of course, we didn't know how to destroy the demon weapon. We needed someone else for that.

Before we could do anything, though, we had to wait. Grace had given us each a lock of her hair. When she used her angelic power, every part of her glowed…including her hair. As soon as her hair lit up, we were to wait five minutes before we commenced our mission. Timing was everything.

* * *

><p><em>~Elijah~<em>

"I just don't understand why _we_, of all angels, had to be the ones stuck with…them," I said for the sixth time.

Kain nodded, silent as ever, as we ran. "Not to mention that we got the least eventful of all of the missions," I grumbled.

"But the most important!" said someone. I turned to see that it was the short kid with the bald head and glasses. He was your typical human nerd.

I glared at him, my hair flying behind me, neatly arranged in between my speckled wings, "Don't talk. It makes you more annoying."

"Don't you think you're being a little harsh?" quipped one of the girls, the more annoying one with the horrid eyebrows.

"No," I replied, mimicking her annoying voice. I was seriously angry. I sometimes got that way. The only one who could calm me down was Kain…and that's just what he did. He stopped running, and when I noticed that I skidded to a stop also.

I stared at him for a moment and then spoke up, "What are you doing?" I walked towards him. The Exwires stared also.

The timid girl spoke, "Um, shouldn't we be moving?"

I growled at her and she hid behind the tall guy. That's when Kain put one of his big hands on my shoulder. I looked up at him. He shook his head, "Be nice."

"But…they're…it's…we're…" I sighed, "Fine." The corner of his lips lifted, his signature smile. I rolled my eyes and ran on.

"Alright, we don't know what's waiting for us in that room. I assume you know your positions, right?" I asked as we ran. I picked up the pace to make up for lost time.

"Yes, Sir," said the pink-haired kid.

"Sir?" I asked and then grinned, "I like that." We ran quickly. We had to get there as fast as possible.

Soon enough, just as Grace had instructed, we turned right and ran into a dead end. "Ok, find it, Exwires," I said. The Arias started chanting the verse that we'd made sure to learn before crossing into Gehenna.

I sort of blocked out their words, keeping my eyes trained on the wall in front of us. "I don't see anything," I said, clenching the hilt of my sword.

"Look," Kain said. He pointed and I followed his finger. A tiny demon had crawled out of an equally tiny hole.

The tall kid looked at me for confirmation and I nodded. His hand shot out and he grabbed the demon in his fist. He winced when it bit his finger. It was a blood sacrifice. Normally, it would kill the person who was sacrificed. This time, since it was weakened by its fatal verse, we would be able to gain access to what was on the other side of the door without losing a member of our company.

"I still don't get why it had to be me," the Exwire grumbled. Damn, I really should have bothered to learn their names. That would make this a lot easier.

"Human blood from someone who received a particularly traumatic temptaint," I repeated for the third time.

"Stupid," he mumbled.

"What now? I forgot," said the pink-haired one.

"We wait," I said.

"For what?" asked the strangely adorable yet somewhat obnoxious one. I had to acknowledge her blond hair. Blond hair is the best kind of hair. Trust me, I would know.

"For that," Kain said. I blinked and looked down. My pocket was glowing. I reached inside and pulled out the lock of hair Grace had given me. I nodded, and looked around at the Exwires.

"Time to move! We've got five minutes!" I said. Kain acted instantly. He stepped forward and drove his foot through the wall. If we hadn't killed that guardian demon, he wouldn't have been able to make a dent.

I slipped through the hole he'd created, the Exwires right behind me, and set to work. My heart sank when I saw what was waiting for us inside.

There weren't giant masses of demons. There wasn't a single person in that room. The only thing in the entire room, other than the eye, (which was a revolting, undulating, black orb on a pedestal on the other side of the room), was a hamster.

"Oh, it's just a hamster," said the pink-haired guy. He sounded relieved.

"Get out," I ordered.

"Huh?" he asked, "But it's just a hamst-"

"Get out!" Kain bellowed. The kid's eyes went wide and he immediately ran out the door, followed closely by his friends.

"Kain, this one's going to be tough," I said.

"Five minutes," he said, unsheathing his scimitars.

"I'll see you on the other side?"

He nodded. I grinned and turned to face our opponent. I took a deep breath and unsheathed my rapier. I cracked my neck and, after counting to three, charged forward. Only when we got close enough did the hamster transform into the Demon King of Earth, Amaimon.

"It's been a while, Elijah!" he shouted, his voice clearly delighted and his tone light. He spoke while deflecting both Kain's and my blades with his claws.

"It certainly has, Amaimon," I replied over the clashing of our weapons.

"And Kain! What a surprise. I didn't expect to see you here! Father will be most infuriated, you know?" Amaimon said. He'd been forced to take a few steps back, towards the eye.

"Quit the chatter, Amaimon. Fight!" I demanded. He smiled and paused for a few brief moments. I seized the opportunity to attack him; I should have known better.

"Wait!" Kain yelled, but it was too late. I lashed out at Amaimon with my blade. He easily deflected me and landed a powerful blow to my stomach. I flew backwards, slamming into the wall behind us. I fell to the ground, immersed in pain. I would start healing soon, but it would take a while if it was broken ribs.

"Elijah!" I looked up to see the blond girl crouching beside me.

"What are you-" I began. I coughed and tasted blood and decided it would be wise not to talk. Maybe I'd hurt myself more than I'd thought.

"Here. Eat this," she said. She shoved a weird looking plant at my face. I heard a shout and my head snapped back to the battle. Kain was struggling, clearly on the defensive.

"Are you tired, Kain? I thought you were the stronger one! If you're already so close to dying, I doubt Elijah will take me very long to kill either. That way I can get rid of _both_ of you _and _go and tell Father of your little plot!" Amaimon said as he continued to hurl attacks at Kain, his voice ecstatic. It was like he was telling someone that the weather would be nice the next day for the picnic he was planning.

"Kain!" I yelled, but regretted it. More blood.

"Eat it!" the girl screamed, "Mrs. Beedle will help you!" Mrs. Beedle. What the heck was this crazy girl talking about in a time like this? I just needed to get back to my partner. I needed to get back to Kain, to help him. I promised I'd be seeing him on the other side, and I wasn't about to let him get there on his own.

"Just eat it, man!" shouted the big guy. He grabbed my hair, (which, if it had not been a life or death situation, I would have been furious about), yanked my head back, and shoved the herb in my mouth. I swallowed it and almost immediately felt better. Whatever that girl had given me, it was like a magical cure. She really knew her herbs.

I grabbed my sword and immediately shot forward. I leapt forward and plunged my sword into Amaimon's shoulder. The Demon King screamed in pain as I yanked my sword out of his flesh. We were running out of time. If we didn't destroy the eye in time, Leoric's team would push forward and Satan would find out about our goal.

I sprinted for the eye. Once I was close enough, I raised my sword and prepared to strike. Before I could destroy the eye, a crippling pain seared my veins. My sword fell from my hand and I crumpled to my knees. Blood was seeping from the arrow that had burrowed straight through my hand. It was still stuck there. I clenched my teeth.

"The next one is your head, Elijah," Amaimon said. An arrow, seemingly made of stone, was floating beside his head. It was pointed directly at me.

My brain instantly came up with a plan, a way to get around this…to trick him. I looked at Kain. We'd been together ever since we were children. We knew each other better than anyone else. He was always able to understand what I was thinking without unnecessary words. So, when I looked at him at that moment, he knew what I wanted him to do. I nodded and yanked the arrow from my hand.

I ignored the rush of pain, grabbed my sword with my other hand, and bolted straight at Amaimon. His eyes went wide. I could hear Kain sprinting towards the eye. He'd be the one to deal the final blow, destroy the eye. Amaimon stared me in the eyes and grinned. I was almost close enough to plunge my sword into him, then. Maybe, if I had, things wouldn't have turned out the way they did.

Time slowed down. Amaimon spoke. "I'm not _that _stupid, Elijah." He dodged to the right and kicked me aside. Even two powerful angels, it seems, are no match for a Demon King. At least, not without injury…without loss…

I watched helplessly as Amaimon turned his attention to Kain. He'd seen it coming. As Kain ran to the eye, Amaimon took his aim. "Kain!" I screamed. He looked my way just as the arrow pierced his chest. Kain's eye went wide. He stood there, the arrow gruesomely protruding from his heart. He looked down and then stared at me. He turned to the eye. He lashed out. The eye shattered easily, breaking into thousands of tiny pieces…almost like black glass…

"NO!" Amaimon shrieked. Kain collapsed immediately and numbness possessed my entire body. Amaimon stood there, seething. The numbness, all at once, exploded into fiery hot rage. I stood up and hurled my fist at Amaimon. I was so angry, so lost, so broken that my fist buried itself in Amaimon's chest.

"A heart for a heart," I growled.

Amaimon stared at me, looked down just as Kain had, and looked back up. I didn't hesitate. I ripped Amaimon's heart from his chest and dropped it on the ground. The former Demon King collapsed. I ran to Kain's side and fell to my knees beside him. He was still breathing. I ripped the arrow from his chest and pressed my hands down on his wound to try to stop the bleeding. I think deep down I knew that it wouldn't work.

"Kain…" I said. He didn't say anything, just looked at me. "Kain!" I yelled. He blinked slowly and opened his mouth. A tiny line of blood leaked from the corner of his lips.

"Sorry," he said. He coughed, "I should…have seen that coming."

"You idiot," I breathed. My vision blurred. Tears.

"E-Elijah," he said, "I might have to go…on ahead." He broke into a coughing fit and gasped for air afterwards. His breathing was ragged now.

"You can't! I won't let you!" I yelled.

Kain looked up at me, and…smiled. "I'll see you on the other side."

His dark eyes stared forward. A single tear dripped from his eye…and I knew…

I knew he'd gone on without me.

* * *

><p><strong> The worst thing about writing stories like this is writing a death. Especially an OC. All of my OC's are somewhere close to my heart, so it makes me legitimately sad to kill one. You can call me weird, but it's true. It was necessary, though; I won't take it back. <strong>

** I also won't lie and say that I didn't consider keeping Kain alive. I did. But I had to do it. I'm also sorry for ending this chapter on a sad note. I also apologize for the semi-gruesome parts, (in case you're especially sensitive to those things), and for the general grimness of this story at the moment. **

** We'll see what happened with Grace and what's going to happen with Mikael and Leoric soon****…****and we can't forget about Jude and Scarlet****… Things are probably starting to become a little clearer for you now. If you're still confused about anything, either leave me a review or PM me, and I'll answer your question at the start of the next chapter. **

** Leave me a review if you want! I really do love them! When I get one, my heart explodes and then repairs itself and then implodes for good measure! :)**


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